Agronomic impacts of climate variability on rice production in the Philippines

Climate variability is a threat to food production. Typhoons, floods, and droughts caused 82.4% of the total Philippine rice losses from 1970 to 1990. In 1990 alone, domestic losses due to climatic constraints amounted to US$ 39.2 million. Weather aberrations, climatic fluctuations such as El Nino, and the growing concern for their effects on agriculture have stimulated academic, public and policy-level interests on the analysis of the impacts of climate variability on agricultural production systems. This paper is presented to discuss the agronomic impacts of climate variability on rice production in the Philippines. Long-term climate variability influences sowing date, crop duration, crop yield, and the management practices adapted in rice production. Short-term weather episodes can also affect yield by inducing changes in temperature, potential evapotranspiration, and moisture availability. The degree of vulnerability of crops to climate variability depends mainly on the development stage of the crops at the time of weather aberration. The vulnerability and risk of crop production due to weather fluctuations and climate variability can be minimized if future weather variation can be adequately predicted and a suitable process-based ecophysiological crop yield forecasting model can be identified to produce real-time yield forecasts. Scientists and farmers must join efforts to further understand crop-climate relationships and formulate viable, locally adapted production technologies that will address critical issues such as climate variability. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.