Impact of the 2013 super typhoon haiyan on the livelihood of small-scale coconut farmers in Leyte island, Philippines

The Philippine coconut industry is characterized by a high incidence of poverty among small-scale coconut farmers. We investigate how severely the farmers were impacted when the super typhoon hit central Philippines in 2013, causing massive damages to the coconut industry. We used a cross-sectional data set collected through face-to-face surveys to quantify the adverse effect of the super typhoon on the livelihood of coconut dependent farmers in Leyte island. The estimation was done through an empirical investigation that tackles the methodological issue in assessing the effect of extreme weather event shock on the socio-economic status of farmers. As households were not randomly assigned to the typhoon-affected group, the propensity score matching method was used in comparing the changes in livelihood between severely affected farmers and relatively less affected farmers. Results show that the onslaught of the super typhoon has significantly reduced the income of coconut farmers. The estimated reduction in income is at least 20,649.89 Philippine pesos (405 USD) per hectare annually. Replanting coconut will take around 7–9 years before it can return to full production capacity. With the drastic decrease in farm income due to the super typhoon, farmers coped by exploring other sources of income, such as by raising livestock, growing other crops, and intercropping coconut farms with coffee or cacao and working off-farm. None of the coconut farmers availed of crop insurance. Results suggest that there is a need to enhance the role of climate-resilient agricultural practices for farmers to cope with extreme weather events. •We examine the impact of super typhoon Haiyan on small scale coconut farmers in Leyte island, Philippines.•We use propensity score matching in estimating the reduction in income of coconut farmers affected by the super typhoon.•Results show that the super typhoon has significantly reduced coconut farmers' income by more than 400 USD/hectare/year.•Farmers pursued other means of livelihood because replanting coconuts will take around 7 to 9 years before harvesting.