Building Disaster Resilience to Address Household Food Security: The Case of Sta. Rosa-Silang Subwatershed

The Laguna Lake Region is one of the places in the Philippines that are most vulnerable to natural disasters because of their location and ecological condition. Among the natural calamities that regularly hit the country, one of the most frequent and disastrous is flooding. The most affected are the poor who are faced with the double risk of being food insecure and living in conditions that are very vulnerable to natural hazards. The most negative and long-term effect of flooding is reduction in food security because flooding erodes the asset base of households that in turn results in the adoption of negative adaptation strategies. The impact of flooding on household food security however depends on disaster resilience - the capacity of households to absorb the adverse consequences. But what constitutes resiliency? What factors affect resiliency? A case study was made in the Sta. Rosa-Silang Subwatershed with the intention of developing a resiliency index that would indicate the capacity of households to absorb the negative consequences of flood disasters. Results show that resilience, which is multidimensional, is determined by demographic and socioeconomic conditions, social capital, amount of damages or losses, social safety nets, and quality of local governance. Specifically, the results show that household disaster resiliency is negatively related to the level of exposure to natural hazards and positively related to the economic capability of households and the community standard of living. In addition, the study demonstrates that enhancing household resiliency could be an important component of any strategy to address food insecurity due to natural hazards. Thus, in disaster-prone areas, measures to enhance household disaster resilience should be an integral part of food security strategies and policies. The role of the resilience index becomes crucial to the evaluation of the conditions of a target population

Determinants of farmers’ adaptation to climate change in agricultural production in the central region of Vietnam

This paper discusses the likely changes in farm cultural practices that farmers would adopt to minimize agricultural production losses as a response to the increasing occurrence of extreme weather conditions due to climate change in the Central Region of Viet Nam. Using binary logit model and multivariate probit model, this paper examined different factors influencing farmers decision on adaptation to climate change in their agricultural production. Training attendance, farm size, damage level, educational level, farming experience, access to credit, and gender were the factors that influenced significantly the probability that farmers would adapt to climate change. Of these factors, attendance in climate change training and farm size were the most important factors affecting the farmers decision on adaptation to climate change, while labor availability and membership in local organizations were not. Three policy recommendations were proposed to enhance small-scale farmers adaptive capacity to climate change in the region. These include: i). broadening of training courses on climate change; ii). institute policies that would promote consolidation of farmlands; and, iii). integrate concepts of climate change and climate change adaptation into the operation of the local organizations

Operations and Profitability of Snail Dredging in Laguna, Rizal and Pasig City

The objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the snail dredging industry and its current situation. Specifically, it describes the snail dredging activities done in selected areas in Laguna Lake, determines the profitability of snail dredging, and identifies the market destinations of the snails dredged. Snail dredging has been banned because of its adverse effects on the lake environment. However, the study finds that snail dredgers continue to operate all year round. On a daily basis, dredging operations range from 4 to 10 hours. Snails dredged from Laguna Lake are brought to the provinces of Pampanga (41%), Bulacan (13%), Quezon (9%) and Laguna (37%). Gross margin analysis was employed to determine the profitability of the snail dredging business. With a GM/GS ratio of 0.15 for both Rizal and Laguna dredgers and 0.14 for Pasig dredgers, snail dredging is not a lucrative business that can provide the snail dredgers a high income. Despite the prohibitions and low profitability, snail dredgers are likely to remain in the business due to the following reasons: (1) the operators and hired workers lack alternative high paying jobs and sure source of income, (2) there is high demand for snails from duck and prawn farms, and (3) high investment cost. Further research is needed to determine how snails can be profitably grown without aggravating the lake’s current condition

Determinants of farmers’ adaptation to climate change in agricultural production in the central region of Vietnam

This paper discusses the likely changes in farm cultural practices that farmers would adopt to minimize agricultural production losses as a response to the increasing occurrence of extreme weather conditions due to climate change in the Central Region of Viet Nam. Using binary logit model and multivariate probit model, this paper examined different factors influencing farmersTiO2-N’ decision on adaptation to climate change in their agricultural production. Training attendance, farm size, damage level, educational level, farming experience, access to credit, and gender were the factors that influenced significantly the probability that farmers would adapt to climate change. Of these factors, attendance in climate change training and farm size were the most important factors affecting the farmersTiO2-N’ decision on adaptation to climate change, while labor availability and membership in local organizations were not. Three policy recommendations were proposed to enhance small-scale farmersTiO2-N’ adaptive capacity to climate change in the region. These include: iTiO2-N). broadening of training courses on climate change; iiTiO2-N). institute policies that would promote consolidation of farmlands; and, iiiTiO2-N). integrate concepts of climate change and climate change adaptation into the operation of the local organizations

Economic Impacts of Smallholder Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Plantations on Peatlands in Indonesia

Oil palm smallholders on peatlands have contributed significantly to economic development in rural areas by augmenting income and reducing poverty. However, these plantations also cause adverse environmental impacts such as carbon emission, haze and peat fires, deforestation, water supply disruption and biodiversity loss. The objective of the study is to determine the economic impacts of developing smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands in Siak District Riau Province, Indonesia. Cochran sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Cost benefit analysis was used to determine the economic impacts of the smallholder oil palm plantations. Results reveal that the development of 94,726 ha oil palm smallholder plantation on peatlands in 2014 had generated an estimated 37,326 jobs and increased the average total income of smallholder households to US$4,556 per year with a multiplier effect estimated at 3.01 for the Siak economy. Total benefit from the 94,726 ha oil palm smallholder plantation was computed at US$ 2,152 million per year. However, the unsustainable oil palm cultural practices of smallholders have led to negative environmental effects. It was estimated that approximately US$1,116 million is lost per year due to the adverse environmental impacts such as carbon emission, deforestation, water supply disruption and biodiversity loss, among others. The results of the economic analysis show NPV, BCR and EIRR to be equal to US$ 1,036 million, 1.93 and 21.91%, respectively. These results indicate that smallholder oil plantations on peatland in Siak provide net economic benefits for Siak’s economy. Proposed policies include the encouragement of sustainable oil palm plantations characterized by a synergistic relationship among legal, social and financial aspects in order to provide optimal economic impacts to communities and minimize adverse effects on the environment

Improving Irrigation Water Use Efficiency of Robusta Coffee (Coffea canephora) Production in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam

Recent prolonged dry periods and lack of irrigation water have severely affected the productivity of coffee farms in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. This paper analyzes the efficiency of irrigation water use for Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) in the Lam Dong province. A Cobb–Douglas production function was used to determine coffee productivity’s response to the application of irrigation water and other production factors using data collected from 194 farmers, while the technical efficiency (TE) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) were analyzed using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. The correlation of different factors to IWUE was determined using the Tobit model. The production function analysis using Cobb–Douglas shows that the volume of irrigation water, amount of working capital, labor, and farm size significantly influence coffee productivity. Indigenous farmers are more efficient in utilizing irrigation water than migrant farmers. The Tobit result indicates that farmers’ experience, education level, the distance of farm to water sources, security of access to water sources, extension contact, and credit access significantly affect IWUE. The study findings further suggest that mitigating water shortages in coffee farms require subregional and national policy support such as better access to credit and extension services, training, land management, and household-level efforts to improve farming practices through the application of appropriate technologies and traditional knowledge

Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies in rice production in Vietnam

Purpose In recent years, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) was introduced to Vietnam to enhance farmers’ resilience and adaptation to climate change. Among the climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSATs) introduced were water-saving techniques and improved stress tolerant varieties. This study aims to examine the determinants of farmers’ adoption of these technologies and the effects of their adoption on net rice income (NRI) in three provinces as follows: Thai Binh (North), Ha Tinh (Central) and Bac Lieu (South). Design/methodology/approach Determinants of adoption of CSATs and the adoption effects on NRI are analyzed by using a multinomial endogenous switching regression framework. Findings The results showed that gender, age, number of family workers, climate-related factors, farm characteristics, distance to markets, access to climate information, confidence on the know-how of extension workers, membership in social/agricultural groups and attitude toward risk were the major factors affecting the decision to adopt CSATs. However, the effects of these factors on the adoption of CSATs varied across three provinces. These technologies when adopted tend to increase NRI but the increase is much greater when these are combined. Practical implications It is important to consider first the appropriateness of the CSA packages to the specific conditions of the target areas before they are promoted. It is also necessary to enhance the technical capacity of local extension workers and provide farmers more training on CSATs. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to identify key determinants of adoption of CSATs either singly or in combination and the adoption effects on NRI in Vietnam

A comparative analysis of gender and youth issues in rice production in North, Central, and South Vietnam

This paper examines how rice farmers at all gender and ages perceive climate change and adopt Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies to enhance resilience and adaptation in three sub-regions of Vietnam. Impacts on livelihoods resilience, workloads of left behind family members, gender roles and responsibilities are also assessed. Using data from 579 randomly-sampled households, results show that women play a more important role in rice production in North and Central compared to the South due to higher rate of male out-migration. Differences in awareness and adoption of CSA technologies are observed although men and women across provinces have similar perception of climate change. The key challenges of youth engagement include drudgery in farm operations, labour-intensive technologies, low profit, inadequate access to land and credit, and lack of agricultural insurance scheme. Results imply that farmers should be provided with equal opportunities in trainings and field demonstrations on CSA technologies. Recommendations to attract the youth include: (i) promote on-farm training at school; (ii) organize exchange visits, trade fairs, competition on farming techniques; (iii) develop good production and business model; (iv) emphasize the important role of farmers and agriculture; (v) update agricultural policies and programmes; (vi) upgrade the skills and knowledge of extension workers