NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines — Flooding is a way of life in San Antonio, a low-lying municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, known as the Philippines’ rice granary. But for farmers like Marivic Lutap, 50, the consequences have become increasingly devastating. Storms turn her farm into a swamp, wiping out crops and her family’s livelihood. 

“We already planted our crops and we already spent all the money needed. Then the water came [from the typhoon],” Lutap said in December 2024.

“There’s nothing I could do whenever the water comes,” she added, recalling her attempts to strengthen the dikes protecting her fields. 

Lutap’s three-hectare farm yielded only 17 cavans of rice during the last cropping season, which typically lasts from four to six months. This was down 60% from the 300 cavans she harvests in a season with good weather. A cavan is a local measurement roughly equivalent to 50 kilograms of rice.

Super Typhoon Pepito dealt the latest blow in November, destroying the rice seedlings intended for replanting—not only on Lutap’s farm but also for over 80 members of the Cama Juan Multipurpose Cooperative, where she is a member.

In November 2024, six cyclones hit the Philippines, including a record four simultaneous storms in the Pacific Basin, the first since 1951. Climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution said that global warming, driven by fossil fuel use, exacerbated the occurrence of these typhoons. 

Tropical cyclones Nika, Ofel, and Pepito caused P785.68 million in agricultural damage, and impacted over 34,000 farmers and fisherfolk, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Gendered vulnerabilities

Nenita Mudlong poses for a photo in her rice field. (Nenita Mudlong)

In a study published by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in 2019, women farmers in San Antonio reported experiencing more stress due to the impact of severe flooding than their male counterparts. According to the study, women farmers also face increased pressure in acquiring loans and workload during severe flooding.

While both men and women are affected by calamities, women farmers report feeling greater stress and anxiety due to concerns about their family’s safety and the loss of rice crops, which means no income or food source.  

Beyond household responsibilities, women often carry the additional burden of caring for the sick and elderly. They also face increased pressure to take on additional off-farm or non-farm work after severe flooding. 

On the other hand, since men are seen to be the provider in the family, the study also reported that men farmers perceive themselves to be pressured in acquiring loans, providing food for the family, and seeking other sources of income following a disaster. 

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2018, 2.33 million women were employed in agriculture, while 7.93 million were male.

The SEARCA study also highlighted disparities in access and control over resources. Only 2% of women respondents reported owning land—a key marker of power and wealth in farming areas. 

A study published in 2024 by researchers from Bangladesh also showed that women in the South Asian nation are vulnerable to mental health impacts of climate change due to increased burdens from  societal expectations, and the compounded impact of disasters on their families’ welfare. 

Debts and mental distress 

Aside from farming, Cathy Manalili also depends on their small store to cover living expenses. (Joshua Mendoza)

Farmer Cathy Manalili, also from San Antonio town, recalled that she was once forced to sell her damaged harvest after a typhoon to a duck raiser, who used it as a feed for farm animals. However, the P 15,000 earned from the sale was far from enough to cover the P 50,000 debt she incurred to plant her 1.5-hectare farm.

Both Lutap and Manalili shared that they rely on loans each planting season to cover the costs of cultivating their crops, as they have no other way to secure the necessary funds. 

However, frequent weather disturbances and crop damage have left farmers unable to produce enough yields to repay their debts. This cycle of financial strain has left them overwhelmed by mounting debt and grappling with mental distress during typhoon season. 

“It’s really hard when your crops are destroyed because our primary problem is where to get money to pay off debts. Our payment would be delayed and could only be settled next harvest season,” Manalili said. 

Manalili’s neighbor, Nenita Mudlong, borrowed P325,000 to plant her five-hectare rice farm. However, she lost 70% of her yield to Typhoon Pepito, forcing her to take out another loan to cover her existing debt. 

“I feel stressed because I’m thinking how hard life is and am worried that we might not be able to pay our debts,” she said.  “You just try to distract yourself and accept that it’s how things are. My husband is working so hard in the fields, and I needed to stay strong.”

At times, she considered seeking work abroad but stayed because her family needed her. She supplements her income by selling personal care products on the side.

Help for farmers

To mitigate the impact of severe typhoons during harvest, farmers adjusted their planting schedule, referring to it as the “early wet season.” Lutap explained that the wet cropping season coincides with months of frequent rainfall, which, in their case, spans from July to October.

During these difficult times, farmers in San Antonio rely on their cooperative for support, such as low-interest loans to fund the next cropping season. The cooperative also offers agricultural training for both men and women, helping them build skills and resilience.

Meanwhile, the regional office of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office has a program called the Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA) that focuses on capacitating farmers’ organization on facing calamities such as flooding, typhoons, drought and assists them for faster recovery.

“We encourage the farmers’ associations to adapt to climate resilient agriculture. For low-lying areas, they should use stress-tolerant varieties so that even if they get submerged in water, they won’t be 100% damaged,” said Zayra Toledo, who works as a focal person of AMIA. 

Farmers should also practice diversified farming, she added. “They shouldn’t just focus on rice; they should also have vegetables and animals that they can earn from.”

Toledo also noted that AMIA villages utilize the Farm Weather Outlook Advisory and 10-day weather forecast through the Agro-Climatic Advisory Portal (ACAP) to stay informed about local climate and weather conditions.

Their project is currently active in 24 farmers’ associations in San Leonardo and Carranglan, Nueva Ecija. San Antonio, despite being a low-lying and flood-prone area, is not included in the program. 

For the women farmers of San Antonio, farming has always felt like a gamble, but Lutap and her fellow farmers remain hopeful for the possibility of a bountiful harvest each season.

“We are farmers and we couldn’t just throw away farming…There’s nothing more you can do but to gamble and to just farm again next season and pray,” Marivic said.

This report was written with support from the “Covering Climate: Qualifying Environmental Journalists in the Philippines” project, which is financed by the German Embassy Manila and implemented by Deutsche Welle Akademie.