Survey: Can seeds be saved?

By Mavic Conde

"Can seeds be saved?" This is the question posed by Bicolano communicators for the launching of their climate action campaign.

The team, called Bicol Umalohokan, are Fellows at Oscar M. Lopez Center, a Philippine organization that has been organizing climate action campaigns under the Balangay Media Project.

The 2021 Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report stated that human activities involving global gas emissions "unequivocally" caused this unprecedented warming of the planet. So are its impacts, ranging from more intense typhoons and droughts, making life harder for the most vulnerable (farmers included).

In Bicol, damage to agricultural crops reached P1.1 billion (53, 383 metric ton of produce) when super typhoon Rolly hit the region in 2020. Storms of this intensity are expected to happen more frequently due to climate change.

Team Bicol Umalohokan's survey question is part of its campaign about the practice of saving seeds in the Philippines. Global food production contributes a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, with crop production for direct human consumption accounts for 21 percent of food emissions, according to Our World In Data summary report which is based on the 2018 study by Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek published in Science.

This means tackling climate change beyond clean energy solutions is just as important. As the recent IPCC report reiterates, every degree of warming avoided saves lives.

Can the practice of saving seeds help do that? Find out through the campaign of the Bicol Umalohokan Fellows. In the meantime, join the survey and win seeds from Benguet.

The team is composed of Solutions Journalism practitioner Mavic Conde, Sustainable Development Goals advocate Apple Allison, and sustainable tourism consultant Rome Candaza.

Follow its Facebook page Bicol Umalohokan for more details.