The long-term project Improving the capacities of Bohol farmers to respond to disasters and climate change, started in 2018, is designed so that farmers, who are the backbone of agriculture and the most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, can be trained and able to respond to the challenges facing the sector. It is implemented by Farmers Development Center, Inc. (FARDEC), Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP)-Bohol, and Camillian Disaster Services (CADIS) International.
Bohol, in the Philippines, was hit by a destructive 7.2 magnitude earthquake in October 2013. It came at a time when the population in Bohol was unprepared for an event of this magnitude and with little knowledge of disaster response and rehabilitation.
Two weeks after the earthquake, another catastrophe struck the province in the form of super typhoon "Yolanda," as Bohol is located near the Visayas region.
Agriculture has not fully recovered. Rice and corn fields were damaged, leaving several irrigation systems broken, while coconut palms, which should have increased farmers' income, were also affected. The long dry season that followed limited small farmers trying to recover.
The project has four objectives and expected results, namely
1. Increased agricultural income for 300 farming families;
2. Increased access to basic health services;
3. Establishment of the OP (people's organizations) DRRM committee;
4. The OPs are able to engage with the local government to raise community concerns.
To achieve the expected results, the project has the following components, namely,
1. Formation of organizations as units and enterprises in barangays and communities;
2. Capacity building on land rights, sustainable agriculture, and community health in relation to climate change and disaster response;
3. Community-based disaster risk reduction and management (CBDRRM); and
4. Lobbying and networking.
However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in March 2020 the Philippines entered a health lockdown that put almost all social and economic life on pause.
FARDEC implementation staff were prevented from freely visiting our areas, and were forced to temporarily halt operations in Bohol and Negros Oriental for the entire year 2020, including our scheduled interventions with our funding partner CADIS International in the island-province of Bohol.
Finally, in January 2021, the FARDEC and CADIS project in Bohol resumed, taking new flight thanks to the valuable assistance and resources of a new project staff. Despite severe travel restrictions, it was possible to conduct a series of consultations with stakeholders and partner organizations.
Despite the lack of agricultural support, the farmers' organizations found strength in each other, allowing expansion among their members amid harassment and militarization in their communities, such as those in the barangays of Bayongan, San Francisco, Catoogan, and La Suerte.
Even during the pandemic and right after being hit by typhoon Odette (international name Rai) in December 2021, FARDEC's relief efforts also helped to reach and formally contact partner organizations, monitor areas, and assess the situation and needs of these communities. Even more importantly, three new farmers' organizations were created from the four ad hoc groups developed during the last reporting period.
Particularly relevant in a global pandemic, FARDEC provided health workshops and discussions to four OPs, one for each municipality, and community risk management planning to eight partner organizations. These efforts, including participatory hazard mapping and risk assessment, greatly helped contain the effects of typhoon Odette in the last month of 2021.
