UPLBFI leads the development of technological and science-based solutions for strengthening AMIA Villages in the Philippines

Since 2015, UPLBFI has been an active partner of the Department of Agriculture – Climate Resilient Agriculture Office (DA-CRAO) in implementing the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA), DA’s flagship program in addressing climate change (CC).

Through AMIA, an integrated and multi-stakeholder effort has been developed to address the crucial threats of weather hazards in the agriculture and fisheries (A&F) sector. One significant contribution of this program is building AMIA villages across the country which serve as lighthouses for other communities to learn and exemplify how to build climate-resilient A&F livelihoods, communities and enterprises. These are also sites where climate-relevant support services are introduced through technological and institutional innovations. Today, the AMIA program has already established more than 127 AMIA villages across the country.

In collaboration with UPLB experts, Bamboo Professionals Inc. (BPI), and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (Alliance), UPLBFI will develop new technological and science-based solutions to be pioneered in selected AMIA Villages within MIMAROPA and other DA-Regions. The project will try to address the pressing issues of A&F communities such as the need for more strategic land-use planning and management, climate-resilient and sustainable enterprise, and timely and relevant CC mitigation strategies.

The project is composed of five major components namely: (1) Updating of National Color-Coded Agricultural Guide (NCCAG) Map; (2) Conduct of soil structure modification for climate change mitigation in AMIA Villages; (3) Feasibility study for establishing a climate-resilient bamboo-based enterprise in Oriental Mindoro;  (4) Capacity building for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) inventory from paddy rice emissions; and (5) Capacity building for GHG inventory in livestock enteric fermentation emissions.

Project activities have commenced in December 2021 and will run until November 2022.

by UPLBFI Project Team