BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The establishment of the proposed Mountain Province Climate Field School moves forward with the recent signing of memorandum of agreement among participating agencies. 

Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. and Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) president Edgar G. Cue led the MOA signing for the project that will help address climate-related challenges in the province.  

The proposed Climate Field School is funded by the People’s Survival Fund in the amount of P271 million. It generally aims to increase yields in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, and mitigate the risks of climate change through good agricultural practices and sustainable resource management.

The climate field school physical infrastructure will be located at the MPSPC Bacarri Campus in Paracelis to serve as a hub for research, development, and extension activities related to climate-conscious farming and agriculture.

The provincial government also inked a memorandum of agreement with the local chief executives of the 10 municipalities for the installation of Automated Weather Stations for collecting and recording weather data. This is part of the project's comprehensive approach to environmental monitoring and data collection. 

Agreements were also entered into with the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Science and Technology for technical support, and training assistance. 

Lacwasan said the project will be a big help to local farmers, and will further boost the agriculture industry not only in the province but also in the Cordillera region.

 “We are looking forward to the success of the project that will provide research and learning platforms to our local farmers and at the same time, help address the impacts of climate change,” he said.

Mountain Province is the only provincial government beneficiary of the six climate adaptation projects approved by the PSF Board late last year. 

The PSF, created under Republic Act 10174, is an annual fund intended for local government units and accredited community organizations to implement climate change adaptation projects that will better equip vulnerable communities to deal with the impacts of climate change. (JDP/VJLT-PIA CAR, Mountain Province)