Adaptive Capacity and Climate Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in Mankayan, Benguet: Strategies, Constraints, and Policy Recommendations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ijdcs.3379Keywords:
Climate Change Adaptation, Smallholder Farmers, Sustainable Agriculture, Adaptive Capacity, Benguet, PhilippinesAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to assess how smallholder farmers in Mankayan, Benguet adapt to climate change, the challenges they face, and the support they need to strengthen their resilience and sustain their livelihoods.
Methodology: The study employed a mixed-method descriptive design to examine the adaptation strategies, challenges, and support needs of smallholder farmers in Mankayan, Benguet. Data were collected from July to September, 2025, using a standardized questionnaire with both closed- and open-ended items. The sample of 397 farmers was determined using Yamane’s (1967) formula for sample size computation. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and mean rankings, while qualitative responses were processed through thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and insights.
Findings: The study finds that smallholder farmers in Mankayan primarily use low-cost, accessible strategies such as crop rotation, scheduling, traditional methods, agrochemicals, and simple water storage. Adoption of advanced technologies remains low due to financial limitations, weak institutional support, and inadequate infrastructure. Farmers emphasized needs such as financial aid, market stability, and modern tools. They showed strong willingness to adopt sustainable practices if support improved. Key barriers include unpredictable climate hazards, price volatility, high input costs, poor irrigation, and delayed institutional assistance.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice, and Policy: The study integrates multiple theoretical frameworks to explain farmer resilience and offers practical and policy recommendations for climate-resilient agricultural development. Practically, it highlights feasible, farmer-preferred adaptation strategies that are low-cost and knowledge-driven. For policy, it offers clear recommendations such as market stabilization, climate-resilient infrastructure, stronger extension services, financial inclusion, and valuing indigenous knowledge to guide local governments in developing targeted, context-specific programs that strengthen the climate resilience of highland farming communities.
Downloads
References
Abebaw, S.E. (2025). A Global Review of the Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Agricultural Productivity and Farmers' Adaptation Strategies. Food Science & Nutrition, 13.
Abraham, T.W., & Fonta, W.M. (2018). Climate change and financing adaptation by farmers in northern Nigeria. Financial Innovation, 4, 1-17.
Ahearn, M. C., & Newton, D. (2020). Agricultural workforce demographics in the United States and worldwide. USDA Economic Research Service.
Aggarwal, P.K., Jarvis, A., Campbell, B.M., Zougmoré, R.B., Khatri-Chhetri, A., Vermeulen, S.J., Loboguerrero, A.M., Sebastian, L.S., Kinyangi, J.M., Bonilla-Findji, O., Radeny, M., Recha, J.W., Martínez-Barón, D., Ramirez-Villegas, J., Huyer, S., Thornton, P.K., Wollenberg, E.K., Hansen, J., Alvarez-Toro, P., Aguilar-Ariza, A., Arango-Londoño, D., Patiño-Bravo, V., Rivera, O., Ouédraogo, M., & Yen, B.T. (2018). The climate-smart village approach : framework of an integrative strategy for scaling up adaptation options in agriculture. Ecology and Society, 23, 14.
Akintonde, J.O., & Shuaib, L. (2016). Assessment of level of use of Climate Change Adaptation StrategiesAmong Arable Crop Farmers in Oyo and Ekiti States, Nigeria. Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change, 7, 1-7.
Appelt, J.L., Saphangthong, T., Malek, Ž., Verburg, P.H., & van Vliet, J. (2023). Climate change impacts on tree crop suitability in Southeast Asia. Regional Environmental Change, 23, 1-14.
Assani, A.S., Yarou, A.K., Dedehou, N.V., Worogo, H.S., Baco, M.N., Houinato, M., & Alkoiret, I.T. (2023). Towards indigenous community-based adaptation to climate change: a typological analysis of tree-livestock integration in smallholding systems in dryland areas of Benin (West-Africa). Agroforestry Systems, 98, 197-211.
Awazi, N.P., Temgoua, L.F., & Shidiki, A.A. (2021). Examining Farmers’ Resilience to Climate Change and Policy Ramifications in North-West Cameroon. Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal, 16, 46-60.
Awinda, D. O., Kapiyo, R., & Kitetu, J. J. (2021). Indigenous Local Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation by Smallholder Farmers in Lake Victoria Indigenous Local Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation by Smallholder Farmers in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya Local Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation by Smallholder Farmers in Lake Victoria. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0ef331f9801b4307e5e461494910af63cb3455de
Baraka, J.M. (2023). Effect of Global Warming on Agricultural Productivity. International Journal of Agriculture.
Barbon, W.J., Myae, C., Vidallo, R., Thant, P.S., Monville-Oro, E., & Gonsalves, J.C. (2021). Applying Participatory Action Research Methods in Community-Based Adaptation With Smallholders in Myanmar. Frontiers in Climate.
Belay, A., Recha, J.W., Woldeamanuel, T., & Morton, J.F. (2017). Smallholder farmers’ adaptation to climate change and determinants of their adaptation decisions in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Agriculture & Food Security, 6.
Bouroncle, C., Imbach, P., Rodríguez-Sánchez, B., Medellín, C., Martinez-Valle, A.I., & Läderach, P. (2017). Mapping climate change adaptive capacity and vulnerability of smallholder agricultural livelihoods in Central America: ranking and descriptive approaches to support adaptation strategies. Climatic Change, 141, 123-137.
Ceccarelli, S., & Grando, S. (2022). Return to Agrobiodiversity: Participatory Plant Breeding. Diversity.
Chaurasiya, P., Kumar, S., Pandey, O.C., Patel, V.K., & Singh, R. (2025). Climate-resilient agronomy: Innovations for sustainable agriculture in the Anthropocene. International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research.
Chen, M., Wichmann, B., Luckert, M.K., Winowiecki, L.A., Förch, W., & Läderach, P. (2018). Diversification and intensification of agricultural adaptation from global to local scales. PLoS ONE, 13.
Chourad, R., Jamadar, R., Naik, V., Joshi, A., & Deshmanya, J.B. (2024). Innovative extension approaches for climate-smart agriculture: Building farmer resilience to environmental change. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development.
Darabant, A., Habermann, B., Sisay, K., Thurnher, C., Worku, Y., Damtew, S., Lindtner, M., Burrell, L., & Abiyu, A. (2020). Farmers’ perceptions and matching climate records jointly explain adaptation responses in four communities around Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Climatic Change, 163, 481 - 497.
De Schutter, O. (2013). The role of women in the right to food. United Nations Human Rights Council.
Feder, G., Just, R. E., & Zilberman, D. (2010). Adoption of agricultural innovations in developing countries: A survey. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 33(2), 255–298.
Halbherr, L., Maat, H., Talsma, T., & Hutjes, R. (2021). Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Rural Development Plans in Vietnam—How to Build Resilience at the Interface of Policy and Practice. Agronomy.
Heckelman, A., Chappell, M.J., & Wittman, H. (2022). A polycentric food sovereignty approach to climate resilience in the Philippines. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
Hellin, J., & Fisher, E. (2019). Climate-Smart Agriculture and Non-Agricultural Livelihood Transformation. Climate.
Hein, Y., Vijitsrikamol, K., Attavanich, W., & Janekarnkij, P. (2019). Economic Assessment of Climate Adaptation Options in Myanmar Rice-Based Farming System. Journal of Agricultural Science.
He, R., Jin, J., Kuang, F., Zhang, C., & Guan, T. (2019). Farmers’ Risk Cognition, Risk Preferences and Climate Change Adaptive Behavior: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17.
Johnson, J., Becker, M., Dossou-Yovo, E.R., & Saito, K. (2023). Farmers’ perception and management of water scarcity in irrigated rice-based systems in dry climatic zones of West Africa. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 43, 1-18.
Jiao, X., Zheng, Y., & Liu, Z. (2020). Three-stage quantitative approach of understanding household adaptation decisions in rural Cambodia. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management.
Juana, J.S., & Okurut, F.N. (2013). Farmers' Perceptions and Adaptations to Climate Change in Sub-Sahara Africa: A Synthesis of Empirical Studies and Implications for Public Policy in African Agriculture. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 5, 121.
Kalidou, A.I., Qi, G., Ndimbo, G.K., & Wu, B. (2024). The value of indigenous knowledge for enhancing smallholders’ resilience to climate change and food insecurity: a case study of small-scale irrigation system in Niger. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 22.
Kamuti, T. (2021). Agroforestry as a Small Landholder’s Tool for Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation in Zimbabwe.
Karki, S., Burton, P., & Mackey, B.G. (2020). The experiences and perceptions of farmers about the impacts of climate change and variability on crop production: a review. Climate and Development, 12, 80 - 95.
Knowler, D., & Bradshaw, B. (2007). Farmers’ adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research. Food Policy, 32(1), 25–48.
Kurniawati, N.K., & Luvhengo, U. (2021). Defining Indonesian and African Small-Holder Farmers’ Climate Change Adaptive Capacity and Practices: A Brief Argument.
Lamichhane, P., Hadjikakou, M., Miller, K.K., & Bryan, B.A. (2022). Climate change adaptation in smallholder agriculture: adoption, barriers, determinants, and policy implications. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 27.
Lemessa, S.D., Watebaji, M.D., & Yismaw, M.A. (2019). Climate change adaptation strategies in response to food insecurity: The paradox of improved potato varieties adoption in eastern Ethiopia. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 5.
Lopes, M.A. (2023). Rethinking plant breeding and seed systems in the era of exponential changes. Ciência e Agrotecnologia.
Magesa, B.A., Mohan, G., Matsuda, H., Melts, I., Kefi, M., & Fukushi, K. (2023). Understanding the farmers’ choices and adoption of adaptation strategies, and plans to climate change impact in Africa: A systematic review. Climate Services.
Makate, C., Wang, R., Makate, M., & Mango, N. (2016). Crop diversification and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe: adaptive management for environmental change. SpringerPlus, 5.
Mamun, A.A., Roy, S.B., Islam, A.R., Alam, G.M., Alam, E., Chandra Pal, S., Sattar, M.A., & Mallick, J. (2021). Smallholder Farmers’ Perceived Climate-Related Risk, Impact, and Their Choices of Sustainable Adaptation Strategies. Sustainability.
Mapfumo, P., Mtambanengwe, F., & Chikowo, R. (2015). Building on indigenous knowledge to strengthen the capacity of smallholder farming communities to adapt to climate change and variability in southern Africa. Climate and Development, 8(1), 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2014.998604
Maziya, M., Mvelase, L., & Dlamini, M.M. (2024). Smallholder Farmers’ Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Their Effect on Household Food Security: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Agriculture.
Mustapha, S., Iddrisu, T.I., & Adzawla, W. (2020). SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ ADAPTATION TO RAINFALL VARIABILITY IN NORTHERN GHANA. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences.
Mwalusepo, S., Massawe, E.S., Affognon, H.D., Okuku, G.O., Kingori, S., Mburu, P., Ong'amo, G.O., Muchugu, E., Calatayud, P., Landmann, T., Muli, E., Raina, S.K., Johansson, T., & Ru, B.P. (2015). Smallholder Farmers’ Perspectives on Climatic Variability and Adaptation Strategies in East Africa: The Case of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Taita and Machakos Hills in Kenya. Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change, 6, 1-9.
Myeni, L., & Moeletsi, M.E. (2020). Factors Determining the Adoption of Strategies Used by Smallholder Farmers to Cope with Climate Variability in the Eastern Free State, South Africa. Agriculture.
Nguyen, T., Sahin, O., & Howes, M. (2021). Climate Change Adaptation Influences and Barriers Impacting the Asian Agricultural Industry. Sustainability.
Okoronkwo, D.J., Ozioko, R.I., Ugwoke, R.U., Nwagbo, U.V., Nwobodo, C., Ugwu, C.H., Okoro, G.G., & Mbah, E.C. (2024). Climate smart agriculture? Adaptation strategies of traditional agriculture to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Climate.
Olabanji, M.F., Davis, N.C., Ndarana, T., Kuhudzai, A.G., & Mahlobo, D.D. (2021). Assessment of smallholder farmers’ perception and adaptation response to climate change in the Olifants catchment, South Africa. Journal of Water and Climate Change.
Omokaro, G.O. (2025). Multi-impacts of climate change and mitigation strategies in Nigeria: agricultural production and food security. Science in One Health, 4.
Peñalba, E. (2019). Adaptation to climate change among farmers in Bulacan, Philippines. Journal of Rural and Community Development. https://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/1629
Peria, A.S., Pulhin, J.M., Tapia, M.A., Predo, C.D., Peras, R.J., Evangelista, R.J., Lasco, R.D., & Pulhin, F. (2016). Knowledge, Risk Attitudes and Perceptions on Extreme Weather Events of Smallholder Farmers in Ligao City, Albay, Bicol, Philippines. Journal of Environmental Science and Management.
Phiri, A.T., Toure, H.M., Kipkogei, O., Traoré, R., Afokpe, P.M., & Lamore, A.A. (2022). A review of gender inclusivity in agriculture and natural resources management under the changing climate in sub-Saharan Africa. Cogent Social Sciences, 8.
Pirasteh, S., Mafi-Gholami, D., Li, H., Wang, T., Zenner, E.K., Nouri-Kamari, A., Frazier, T.G., & Ghaffarian, S. (2025). Social vulnerability: A driving force in amplifying the overall vulnerability of protected areas to natural hazards. Heliyon, 11.
Ruiz-García, P., Conde-Álvarez, C., Gómez-Díaz, J.D., & Monterroso-Rivas, A.I. (2021). Projections of Local Knowledge-Based Adaptation Strategies of Mexican Coffee Farmers. Climate, 9, 60.
Sakapaji, S. (2022). Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research.
Sekaranom, A.B., Nurjani, E., & Nucifera, F. (2021). Agricultural Climate Change Adaptation in Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia. Sustainability.
Shirima, A. O., Mahonge, C., & Chingonikaya, E. (2018). Smallholder Farmers’ Levels of Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change and Variability in Manyoni District, Tanzania. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/54d59ae51c2fa88e3743709adde099377f143f7d
Shrestha, R.P., Raut, N., Swe, L.M., & Tieng, T. (2018). Climate change adaptation strategies in agriculture: cases from Southeast Asia. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 7, 39-51.
Silici, L., Rowe, A., Suppiramaniam, N., & Knox, J.W. (2021). Building adaptive capacity of smallholder agriculture to climate change: evidence synthesis on learning outcomes. Environmental Research Communications, 3.
Son, H.N., Kingsbury, A., Chi, D.T., & Tam, N. (2021). The role of Tay indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation in the Northern Mountainous Region of Vietnam. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge.
Tesfuhuney, W., & Mbeletshie, E. (2021). Place-based perceptions, resilience and adaptation to climate change by smallholder farmers in rural South Africa. International Journal of Agricultural Research, Innovation and Technology, 10, 116-127.
Verburg, R.W., Rahn, E., Verweij, P.A., Kuijk, M., & Ghazoul, J. (2019). An innovation perspective to climate change adaptation in coffee systems. Environmental Science & Policy.
Yeleliere, E., Antwi‐Agyei, P., & Guodaar, L. (2023). Farmers response to climate variability and change in rainfed farming systems: Insight from lived experiences of farmers. Heliyon, 9.
Zamasiya, B., Nyikahadzoi, K., & Mukamuri, B.B. (2021). Drivers of Level of Adaptation to Climate Change in Smallholder Farming Systems in Southern Africa: A Multilevel Modeling Approach. African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Novy L. Canggat, Hwa -Seok Hwang, Menjo P. Felino
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
