THE Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the United Nations in collaboration with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has kicked off its first Supervision Mission for the Adapting Philippine Agriculture to Climate Change (APA) Project in (Region 2) Cagayan Valley.
The mission, held on Feb. 4, 2026, brought together global and national partners to ensure the project’s progress and performance are aligned with its objectives.
Both from GFC, Frederic Wiltmann, sub-regional coordinator, and Ivan Lawrence White, task manager, reviewed the project’s progress and performance with project co-implementors, the Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), and regional counterparts.
Kay Olivas, DA Region 2 technical director for Research and Regulations, said the monitoring support ensures the implementers — the DA Region 2, local government units, and farmers — of the genuine concern and sincerity of the GCF and FAO in improving the lives of the farmers in the APA Project pilot municipalities in Isabela and Cagayan.
“It provides problem-solving support, enhances stakeholder motivation, and promotes effective compliance to ensure alignment with the project’s target outcomes,” Olivas said.
The APA Project aims to enhance the resilience of Filipino farmers to climate change, focusing on 20 municipalities in Isabela. The project will provide improved Climate Information and Weather System (CIS) and Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) initiatives, supported by training and agricultural technical support.
Based on the initial CRA Strategic Planning conducted by the project, the province has identified rice, corn, cassava, and banana as priority commodities.
Isabela’s Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) reported that during the 2024-2025 dry season, only 79 percent of the targeted 200 hectares for silage production were planted — nearly a quarter yield cut — due to the effects of La Niña.
OPA officials said that farmers continue to experience recurring climate risks that negatively affect production and threaten local agriculture supply.
During the mission, the team visited Santa Victoria in Ilagan, Isabela, one of the pilot sites under the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA).
The community produces an average of 500 metric tons of rice annually, aside from corn and cassava that are also major crops.
The local cooperative, AMIAnan Farmers Entrepreneur Agriculture Cooperative, shared how the DA program has helped boost production and stabilize livelihoods through CRA options and CIS.
The APA Project will build on the gains from the AMIA program to further improve farmers’ resilience to climate risks.
Lionel Dabbadie, FAO Philippines representative, underscored that Isabela and Cagayan’s agriculture potentials are enormous but are repeatedly hit by climate shocks.
“With GCF support, we are transforming local agrifood systems so farmers can thrive despite adversity. We thank the GCF team for the visit and for guiding us on doing better,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure that Philippine agriculture can thrive despite the disasters.... If we put this kind of project in place, we can definitely make agriculture great,” Dabbadie added.
The APA Project is a seven-year initiative, approved by the GCF Board on Mar. 16, 2023, with a total project cost of $39.2 million (at least P2.2 billion).
The project seeks to improve institutional capacities, provide localized climate information services, and promote climate-resilient agriculture practices, particularly among women and indigenous peoples.
