Impacts of Climate Change on Household Food Security in the Philippines
Celia Reyes, Joel Bancolita, Novee Lor Leyso and Steffie Joi Calubayan
December 2014
1. Introduction
The increasing complexity of shocks (global, economic and political crises, calamities and disasters, and
threats of climate change among others), and the limited, if not depleting capacities among poor and
vulnerable segments of the population to assessment that can be used as basis for better design and
implementation of policies and programs to mitigate and cushion the negative impacts of these shocks.
One of the emerging development concerns in recent years is that of the adverse implications of climate
change. In the Philippines, where extreme weather conditions during El Nino and La Nina is already
common, what makes climate change a threat in the country’s agriculture sector though is the undefined
shifting of climatic events such as rainfall, humidity and rising temperatures. This leads to the confusion of
farmers on when to plant especially without proper scientific guidance which in turn affects the food
security of the country.
Food security is defined as a state wherein all people have, at all times, physical, social and economic access
to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary energy requirements and food preferences for
an active and healthy lifestyle 1. Being one of the goals of the agriculture sector under the Philippine
Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016, the national government thru the Department of Agriculture launched
the Food Staples Sufficiency Program. Increasing productivity of the food staples such as rice corn, banana,
cassava and sweet potato, as well as rural income, is necessary in achieving food security and reduction of
poverty.
Appropriate policy measures need to be put in place to support the vulnerable population amidst problems
of growing poverty incidence aggravated further by the threats and impacts of climate change on food
security as well as on other human development outcomes. Consequently, it is important to examine
existing data that can facilitate the design of informed policy-decisions and well-targeted safety net
programs.
The community-based monitoring system (CBMS) is an important tool in monitoring the impacts of shocks
at the micro level. It can facilitate the conduct of vulnerability and risk assessment and mapping as it
generates the necessary disaggregated data (sub-national and household level data on socioeconomic
variables and poverty indicators) for identifying and profiling the vulnerable population. The system can
facilitate a better understanding of the nature and extent of exposure and vulnerability to shocks such as
that of climate-change and in examining their capacities to mitigate and cope with the adverse implications
of these shocks to their well-being and communities over time. Data from CBMS has been used in earlier
studies to examine the impacts on poverty of the increase in rice and fuel prices (Reyes, et al. 2009), of the
global financial crisis (Reyes, et al. 2010), and to monitor household coping responses during periods of
complex shocks.
This technical report aims to: (1) examine the nature and extent of vulnerability of households in the
Philippines to the impacts of climate change on food security; (2) profile vulnerable groups using available
data; (3) analyze available regional, provincial, municipal/city, and household level indicators of
1
FAO, Right to Food Glossary
CBMS-FAO | 1