‘Debt sentence’ by disasters? Rural indebtedness among Filipino smallholder farmers in post-disaster context

Rural indebtedness in the context of environmental shocks (disasters), have long been studied by agrarian scholars. However with the changing behaviour and trends of disasters and climate change, it is crucial to explore how this ‘new normal’ phenomenon affects the agriculture sector, specifically to the spread of rural indebtedness. This is also aggravated by the worsening conditions of vulnerabilities among smallholder farmers who live in the margins, which defines how they are affected by climate-related disasters. The environmental impacts–indebtedness nexus, then triggers social, economic, political, and environmental changes in the countryside, that push the farmers to fall into the ‘debt sentence’. This study aims to explore how the changing (increasing) trends of climate-related disasters contribute to the emergence/spread of rural indebtedness (debt sentence) among smallholder farmers in Southern Philippines. This nexus was unpacked using vulnerability analysis, moral economy approach, and theses on the consequences of rural indebtedness as analytical and theoretical handles. Furthermore, this complex phenomenon was examined from the perspective of small-holder farmers in Southern Philippines, who are at the forefront of environmental and agrarian issues. This study combined quantitative and qualitative data to understand how smallholder farmers experience the increasing trend of climate-related disasters. This includes their credit-seeking behaviours, credit-utilization patterns, the role of the government, and the consequences of debt in post-disaster context. The study revealed that the increasing climate/disaster trends has direct links to the rapid proliferation of rural indebtedness, which merits to be considered as a global crisis. Hence, the nexus surrounding climate emergency issues and rural indebtedness, requires a twin-integrated approach of agrarian climate justice as a way forward.