Understanding Farming Risks and Habitus in the Philippines’ “Risk Environment”: The Case of Upland Abaca Farming Community in San Miguel, Catanduanes

Philippine agriculture is often associated with risk, owing to the country’s frequent exposure to natural disasters and its vulnerability. However, few studies have been conducted to understand the risk disposition of farmers in such complex environments. To better understand this, we utilized Bourdieu’s theory of practice to examine how upland abaca farmers in San Miguel, Catanduanes responded to disasters. Through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys with 20 local farmers, we obtained qualitative and quantitative data to address our research questions. Our findings reveal that the “risk environment” in Catanduanes was predominantly triggered by strong typhoons, pests, diseases, and unstable fiber prices and income. These individual farming risks were interconnected, with one risk often being the result of another and/or exacerbated by another. Farmers consistently employed long-standing practices, such as planting alternative crops, working off-farm, availing cash and commodity loans, and continuing abaca farming to cope with different sources of risk. Farmers’ decisions to implement these practices were influenced by their economic, natural, cultural, and social capital. This suggests that farmers’ coping practices were unconsciously driven by their habitus as an outcome of the interaction between their “risk environment” and available capital. However, this long-standing habitus and reliance on available resources may limit conscious decisions and actions in employing long-term solutions, with reference to the intensifying impact of climate change in the near future.