The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation, Inc. were partners of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) in its Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA) project that produced the NACCAG Map, which analyzes agricultural efficiency and land use.
AMIA embodies the DA's national framework of action to address climate change in agriculture. It is the umbrella program on climate change across all of DA's agencies, units, programs, and functions.
Being one of the several interventions of the DA towards achieving food sufficiency, the NACCAG Map will be presented to President Rodrigo R. Duterte by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol during the launching ceremonies.
Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and Dr. Lope B. Santos III, Program Specialist and Officer-in-Charge, SEARCA Project Development and Technical Services (PDTS), will be present during the event.
The NACCAG Map was derived from combining factors affecting agricultural and fishery production, including soil properties, water availability, climate topography as well as economics and demography.
According to AMIA, to remove guesswork in farming in the Philippines, the color-coded guide map identifies the agricultural areas that are naturally suitable for 20 crops. It overlays data on soil properties, elevation, slope, rainfall pattern, temperature, and climate-induced multi-hazards.
Moreover, the NACCAG Map may also be viewed per major watershed and major riverbasin, and localized into regional, provincial, and city/municipal levels.
The maps can guide the farmers and fisherfolks as well as plantation owners to determine the appropriate crops in a given climate condition. The maps can also serve as basis for landscape planning of agricultural production and natural resource management in the upland, lowland, and coastal ecosystems.
"Furthermore," Dr. Santos added, "the local government units (LGUs) can use some of the maps in preparing their vulnerability and risk assessments which are necessary in the formulation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and the preparation of Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP)." (Leah Lyn D. Domingo)
