Indigenous Knowledge Strategies for Food Security during Health Disasters: The Case of Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines

Abstract

Food insecurity is a prevalent challenge faced by communities across various landscapes and regions around the globe during health disasters such as epidemics and pandemics. The study seeks to examine the indigenous knowledge strategies utilized by indigenous peoples to maintain food security during disasters. Utilizing a qualitative  narrative inquiry approach, this study gathers information from the council of      elders, barangay officials and community members. The Indigenous Peoples have long relied on the agamang system, or use of rice granaries to ensure food security during health and natural disasters, and community ceremonies. Each family maintains its own rice granaries to store their harvests following the tradition of their ancestors to never completely empty the content of the rice granary. This indigenous practice ensures a yearlong food reserves, with the current year’s harvest intended for consumption in the following year.  Additionally, the Gawat system which involves loaning of rice grains to affected relatives to prolonged impacts of disasters, remains an active practice by the Indigenous Peoples. This traditional knowledge, rooted in the practices of the indigenous peoples that date back time immemorial, continue to thrive today despite the challenges posed by urban migration, modernization, urbanization, and introduction of cash economy. This localized knowledge contains crucial information that can be adopted by rice farming communities, government agencies like Department of Agriculture and Disaster Risk Reduction Management to ensure food security during health or natural disasters.