Agriculture is at the heart of Philippine society and employs nearly one in five Filipinos while serving as the backbone of rural communities. Yet, it is also among the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. Rising temperatures, stronger typhoons, and shifting rainfall patterns threaten not just farmers and fisherfolk, but the nation’s food security as a whole.
A new paper by the Klima Center of the Manila Observatory titled ‘A Just Transition for Philippine Agriculture: Ensuring Climate Resilience, Food Security, and Social Justice’ calls for agriculture to take a significant role in the Philippine Just Transition Framework (JTF). Transition policies must not treat agriculture as collateral damage in the shift to a low-carbon economy. Instead, the sector should be recognized as a driver of both adaptation and mitigation.
The paper outlines four points for a just agricultural transition:
- Identify Adaptation and Mitigation synergies in agricultural transition
- Embed food security into transition plans
- Consider post-harvest in transition
- Ensure equitable access and social justice in agriculture.
By positioning farmers and fisherfolk as active agents of resilience and innovation, the paper emphasizes that agriculture can become a cornerstone of climate action. A just agricultural transition is not only about meeting climate targets; it is about securing food, livelihoods, and dignity for millions of Filipinos.