El Niño affecting small-scale farms; capacitating the WPI Drought Policy

As the summer season approaches, reports of El Niño have been circulating around different municipalities in the Philippines. Droughts and dry spells have exacerbated crops leading to physiological stress, reduced yields, and high susceptibility to diseases. The rapid increase of temperatures in various regions have catapulted several insurance companies to venture into agriculture insurance, more specifically, using a parametric approach.

Heat stress is one of the major concerns affecting crop mobility and harvest, this prompted CLIMBS Weather Protect Insurance to boost its drought policy and extend its reach to all municipalities of the country. This type of insurance coverage ensures that payout from pre-determined triggers are conducted in 72 hours. Using a meso-level approach, this trigger aims to catapult the growing need for assistance especially in far-flung areas with little to no access to a constant water supply.

Despite the crippling effects of El Niño in the Agriculture sector, another problem is the farmers’ intention and capacity to pay for drought insurance coverage. The lack of knowledge and awareness towards the capability of drought insurance, is one of the alarming issues at hand.

Which ultimately led to CLIMBS conducting a Willingness-to-Pay survey in collaboration with Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, to test the capability and interest of farmers in adopting the insurance product. However, the farmers’ perception, knowledge, attitudes, and practices shows that there is a lack of information about the WPI products and its potential to alleviate the current status of the Philippine agri-value chain.

But despite the lack of awareness and distribution, CLIMBS has partnered with several renowned organizations that are able to help with knowledge awareness, capacity building, and introduction of climate finance. In support of the Climate Change Commission’s National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), water resource management, early warning systems, and climate-smart agriculture practices.

The journey to resilience may be challenging, but even a small step can create a ripple effect in impacting millions of lives and helping Philippine agriculture grow and prosper for generations to come.