More investments pushed for agri growth, climate adaptation

NEDA Assistant Secretary Mercedita Sombilla said it is imperative to enhance the farm sector’s resilience, which has 10-percent contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth. (File Photo: @UNDPPH/Twitter)

MANILA — The Philippines needs to invest more on mitigating the effects of climate change on agriculture to make economic growth more inclusive, a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official said.

NEDA Assistant Secretary Mercedita Sombilla said it is imperative to enhance the farm sector’s resilience, which has 10-percent contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

“If you are able to strengthen resiliency and there are several measures which we could do to ensure that they (farmers) have good harvests and they can increase their income then, that will be already an important move towards achieving inclusive growth,” she said in an interview over the weekend.

Sombilla, also one the authors of the newly-launched book titled “The Future of Philippine Agriculture under a Changing Climate: Policies, Investments and Scenarios”, stressed that climate change mitigation can also ensure stable supply of farm products and prices.

“If we are able to mitigate and to be resilient against climate change then, we are ensured of more production. And of course, we will be able to predict a little bit more stable prices which means to say that’s going to be good for consumers,” she added.

The book also stressed the need for the country to increase investments in agricultural research and development (R&D) and irrigation. It said that R&D investment in crop breeding should give higher priority to traits that improve adaptation or help in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, such as nitrogen use efficiency and heat and drought tolerance.

Livestock breeding should also shift to more efficient production technologies that reduce GHG emissions, it said.

“In some regions, climate change will make large dams more valuable to handle increased variability in precipitation and run-off, but in more cases greater emphasis should be given to small-scale irrigation for flexibility,” the book added.

It cited that yearly losses due environmental hazards aggravated by climate change between 2000 and 2016 include production losses and damage to farm equipment, and irrigation and road facilities of PHP17.37 billion which is equivalent to about 1.8 percent of the sector’s yearly average gross value-added or GVA.