CSC Exchange - Participatory methods to understand decision-making processes of Filipino rice farmers in the face of climate change

Participatory methods to understand decision-making processes of Filipino rice farmers in the face of climate change​

Presented by Jaime A. Manalo IV

Hosted by the Centre for Communication and Social Change

Date: Friday 12 April, 2019
Time: 12:00noon-1:00pm
Location: Room 208, Joyce Ackroyd Building (#37) 

Abstract:

Globally, millions of rice farmers rely heavily on rice farming for their livelihood, and rice serves as the staple food of more than half of the world’s population.  With the rice sector being amongst the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change, understanding how decisions relating to adaptation to climate change-related drought are made by rice farmers is crucial.  This presentation focuses on fieldwork conducted in two drought-prone rice-producing municipalities in the Philippines from July 2018 to February 2019.  It will focus on methods employed during data collection and in particular the ways in which Systemic Thinking was used as a dominant approach.  During the field work a range of methods were used including in-depth interviews, 'windshield' survey, and focus group discussion (FGD) which included participatory research techniques including multi-causal mapping, resource mapping, rich pictures, and historical timeline.  The presentation will include information on how these methods were used as well as several reflections in collecting data with and from rice farmers.

Presenter:

Jaime Albarillo Manalo IV is a PhD candidate with the Centre for Communication and Social Change.  He is affiliated with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the Philippines' lead agency for rice research and development, as a Senior Science Research Specialist. In 2014-2015, he served as Head of the Development Communication Division of PhilRice, which is tasked to communicate various rice farming technologies to farmers. He has more than a decade of experience in working with Filipino rice farmers. He has done various communication for development studies in rice such as on information and communications technology for development, youth and agriculture, and climate change adaptation.

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