Vulnerability Assessment of Agricultural Produce to Flooding in Libacao, Aklan, Philippines

Abstract

Climate change affects agricultural productivity, food security, and rural livelihoods globally. Changes in temperature, rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events like droughts, floods, and stronger typhoons cause substantial damage to crops, livestock, and infrastructure and harm the agricultural sector as a whole. The Philippines is highly vulnerable to natural disasters due to its geographical and environmental setting. Aklan Province in Western Visayas, Philippines, boasts of its high geographic diversity, having five major river systems. Aklan River is the largest, longest, and third-largest drainage basin on the island. A conducted geohazard mapping and assessment identified Libacao to be vulnerable to the threat of flooding. This study focused on assessing the vulnerability of the agricultural produce in the Municipality of Libacao, Aklan, which is one of the communities along the Aklan River. The barangays of Calacabian, Calamcam, Casit-an, Dalagsaan, Guadalupe, Janlud, Julita, Loctuga, Magugba, Manika, Ortega, Oyang, Pampango, Pinonoy, and Rivera were assessed as they were situated along the Aklan River. The assessment identified rice, abaca, coconuts, bamboo, and banana as the top agricultural produce in Libacao. Vulnerability assessment showed that rice production in Calacabian, Calamcam, Casit-an, Loctuga, Pampango, Pinonoy, and Rivera was highly vulnerable. Also, Casit-an, Loctuga, Pampango, and Rivera were assessed to be very highly vulnerable to coconuts. For bananas, the barangays of Calacabian, Casit-an, Pampango, and Pinonoy were identified to have very high vulnerability. With the vulnerable areas identified, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Libacao may consider the results in their planning and strategies.