PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija — Local farmers across Central Luzon have much to talk about and their conversations often tackle the hardships and even plans of abandoning their homes as the government enforces its land property policies, demanding families to either leave or suffer under the heel of abusive landlords.

The net results of the difficulties experienced by them are emerging food shortages across the central provinces in Region III, where some twelve million people are facing potential famine and international organizations are warning of a “possible economic collapse” after heavy rains were blamed by farmers for ruining the recent planting season.

“Nagtanim kami pero tinangay ng baha,” 52-year-old farmer Mang Andres lamented, his face dark and aged from decades in the sun. “Naglagay kami ng abono, na sobrang mahal, tinangay rin ng baha.

“Napakahirap ng aming kalagayan pero ang sabi ay dahil daw sa climate change. Dati nga may inipong tubig sa maliit na lawa malapit sa aming taniman, kaya lang natuyot na ito at naging lubluban na lang ng kalabaw.” he described his situation.

The list of complaints blamed on climate change goes on and in recent times it has become complicated because farmers cite the man-made shift in weather patterns for drought, clean water shortages, severe storms and landslides, dying forests, insect plagues, silted rivers and disappearing fish populations as contributory factors to their sorry plight.

But perhaps the biggest impact is the unpredictability of the seasons. Traditionally farmers would plant and harvest around the annual May to September monsoon when plants and wildlife bloom and breed accordingly.

That, according to a farmer from Apalit in Pampanga—who declined to be identified—resulted in years of patchy drought which ended with recent late floods that ruined his vegetable and rice crops and seeds needed for next year.

“Kung hindi man binaha, natutuyot ang lupa. Nakakalungkot pagmasdan. 16 years ago, maganda ang pananim at ani.

“Ngayon ubos na ang masasabing matabang lupa, nagkakaroon pa ng mga landslide doon sa mga gilid ng bundok, at umaabot ang lupang gumuho sa mga lawa at ilog,” he shared.

“Dalawang buwan nakalipas, bumaha ng malalim at tinangay ang aming abono sa ilog. Naglaho na rin ang mga isda at ang tubig hindi na kasing linis gaya ng dati.”

Five kilometers southeast of his farmland, another farmer, Winifredo, tells a similar story. His family is sub-leasing a few acres of land and growing rice some chili, Lady Finger bananas and spinach on the banks of the nearby river.

His sentiments were echoed by Mang Chito, a 45-year-old farmer who moved his wife and two children from the lower region of Pampanga to a plot of land bordering with Nueva Vizcaya.

But he says climate change is proving too hard to combat while providing a living for his family at the same time.

“Alam namin ang tungkol sa global warming at dahil dito, kaya may kakulangan sa patubig. Kasunod din ng tag-init ang mga kulisap na namiminsala sa aming pananim. Gumagamit kami ng mga chemical fertilizer para labanan ang pamiminsala nila.

Mang Chito likewise noted that climate change was compounding problems for ordinary folk in Pampanga ang other nearby provinces.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the recent super typhoon Kristine destroyed farms, deteriorated produce quality and blocked roads due to torrential rains, strong winds, landslides and flooding, disrupting the delivery and creating delays in the transport of farm produce to public markets in Metro Manila and thus affecting their selling prices.

In ending, Mang Chito claims that the loss of large trees through drought and the destruction of forests has resulted in landslides when the rains arrive and this year’s flood was very bad and crops were badly damaged due to irregular seasons.