The Department of Agriculture (DA) has urged the farm and fishery sectors to take measures to adapt to the changing climate patterns and improve their yields.

These measures have been included in the action plans of DA’s implementing units after agency and bureau chiefs were briefed by a team of climate experts commissioned by the United Nations (UN) to help strengthen the Philippines institutional capacity to adapt to climate change.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Jesus Emmanuel Paras has divided DA groups into three climate change adaptation teams -- one team involved in crops, another team on fisheries, and a third team on research and development.

The three teams were instructed to come out with their climate change adaptation plans for their sectors before weekend. DA was chosen by the UN project as one of the chief implementors of programs to mitigate the ill effect of the changing climate patterns affecting the country.

Paras asked the UN group to release fresh and adequate information on climate change to give farm officials the lead time to adjust their programs to new situations.

He said it is important to upgrade technology in forecasting erratic climate changes and weather patterns. Paras stressed the weather bureau earlier revealed drought-inducing El Niño will hit the Philippines in the third quarter but said what is needed is the information on what provinces would be hit and how severe the drought would be.

The Philippines was chosen as a pilot area for long-term and planned climate change response systems because of its unique vulnerability to natural disasters that include no less than 20 typhoons a year.