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This study examines the vulnerability and adaptive responses of aging rice farmers in Philippine agrarian reform communities (ARCs) to intensifying climate extremes, including prolonged heat, drought, heavy rainfall, and tropical cyclones. Building on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change vulnerability framework and extending the Protection Motivation Theory through the Risk, Coping, and Social Appraisal model, this study integrates structural, cognitive, and social dimensions of climate adaptation. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with older farmers, purposively sampled across three ARCs in Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines, complemented by focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Findings reveal a convergence of high exposure, elevated sensitivity, and uneven adaptive capacity, manifested in chronic heat-related physical strain, disrupted farming calendars due to unpredictable rainfall, and reliance on informal social networks as primary coping mechanisms amid limited institutional support. Farmers demonstrated strong risk appraisal, acknowledging the immediacy and severity of climate threats, yet adaptive action was constrained by low coping efficacy, limited financial and technological resources, and age-related physical limitations. Social appraisal emerged as a critical determinant of resilience, with cohesive farmer organizations and institutional support enabling effective collective adaptation, while weak social cohesion and limited institutional reach exacerbated vulnerability. Policy implications emphasize strengthening coping and social appraisal through targeted investments in climate-resilient infrastructure, tailored extension services for older farmers, community-based adaptation models, and social protection systems such as pensions, crop insurance, and emergency assistance. By addressing structural constraints while leveraging older farmers’ experiential knowledge, these interventions can enhance rural climate resilience and food security.
Preña et al. (Tue,) studied this question.