Vulnerability of smallholder farmers in Lantapan, Bukidnon. Smart Tree-Invest Working Paper

The municipality of Lantapan, located within the Manupali watershed, has an agriculture-based economy, with almost 90% of the households relying on smallholding agriculture. This study used the capital-based approach to qualitatively assess the vulnerability of smallholder farming households in the three sub-watershed clusters in Lantapan, Bukidnon to climate-related shocks. Following the IPCC framework of vulnerability, which assesses exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity this study explored the different variables that contribute to vulnerability using a mix of quantitative and participatory data gathering techniques. Overall, the descriptive analysis shows that the smallholder households in the Tugasan sub-watershed are the most vulnerable to climate-related shocks among the three clusters. More than environment or social factors, poverty seems to contribute most to the Tugasan cluster’s vulnerability, as the households come considerably behind other clusters in terms of financial and physical assets. The farming practices of Tugasan farmers may also contribute to their vulnerability. For example, practices such as monocropping and not planting trees on their farms make them more susceptible to climate impacts. Based on these results, interventions to help reduce smallholders’ vulnerability to climate shocks should focus on livelihood activities and farming practices, such as agroforestry, that are more climate resilient and can help provide both financial and environmental benefits.

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5716/WP15727.PDF

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