Eight Fairtrade Farmers' Organizations in the Philippines Map Climate Hazards and Set Their Own Preparedness Priorities

Eight organizations, each leaving with its own priorities

Eight Fairtrade certified small producer organizations in the Philippines have each set three to five priorities for climate adaptation and disaster preparedness in a workshops held with Fairtrade NAPP between 12 and 19 August 2026. Of the 76 people who took part, at least 50 were women. Two trading companies, Alter Trade Philippines Inc. and AgriExim, joined them. Farmers already know the risks on their land, and the workshops set out to turn that knowledge into written plans.

A hazard record written by the people who lived it

Drought, typhoons, floods, the June 2026 earthquake in the Davao area, Kanlaon volcanic eruptions and the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect in sugarcane all went on record in the hazard mapping session. Coconut farmers described immediate and delayed effects of drought. Sugarcane farmers cited waterlogging and cane falling over close to harvest. Each organisation now holds a written history covering many hazards, not only the weather.

"Climate change has made farming more uncertain for us. The weather patterns we used to understand and predict are changing."

- Cherrypie Embang, Maria Cecilia Farm Workers Association (MACFAWA) Inc., Philippines

Testing whether a warning reaches the farm in time

The needs assessment session held farming practices, early warning systems and preparedness measures to one test: whether a warning arrives early enough for a farmer to act on it. Community maps marked flood and drought prone areas, and access routes that could be cut off from markets. Organizations can now see where hazard information and their own communication channels need to connect. Measures from Fairtrade NAPP's 2023 training were also reviewed.

Clearer routes to local government support

A session on policy linkages traces how each organisations can approach local government programmes. Facilitators recorded each one's actual registration type, because registration affects which programmes it can apply to. Leaders also considered how the Fairtrade Premium could be used for emergency response and for longer-term climate adaptation.

Priorities sized to what each organisation can carry out

Action planning closed each day. Every priority had to match the organisation's own capacity and resources, and to support alignment with Republic Act No. 10121 and the Climate Change Adaptation Plan requirement in the Fairtrade Standard for Small Producer Organizations. Sessions ran in Bikol in Albay, Cebuano in the Davao sites and Hiligaynon in Negros Occidental, so members could speak from experience in their own language.

Affordable climate finance is the shared ask

Farmers and their organizations are already acting on climate and disaster risks. How far they can go depends on finance, institutional support, timely information, and practical options. Their common position is that small producer organizations need affordable climate finance and easier access to local support. Fairtrade NAPP works alongside them through assessment, training and engagement with local government units.

"We cannot simply leave our land. Our livelihood, our homes, and our lives are rooted here."

- Eglisirio Elarrio, Pandanon Integrated Balangon Farm Workers Association Inc., Philippines

Draft plans go back to the organizations next

The workshop outputs will be drafted into a Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Plan for each organisation, then returned to it and to Fairtrade NAPP for review and finalisation. Barriers common to all eight will feed an issue brief for wider stakeholder engagement. Turning the plans into funded action is the part that still needs work, along with better data on who takes part in future activities.