Towards Effective risk Communication: Validating Social Cognitive Theory Through Farmer’s Response Behavior to Flood Warnings

Abstract

Flooding is considered one of the most devastating natural disasters in the Philippines and greatly contributes to economic loss. It is even more critical as the country's economy is largely dependent on agriculture and its natural resources. Hence, the most affected among the sectors are the farmers who strongly depend on natural resources as their sole source of income. However, existing literatures on risk communication have given little focus on farmers' coping mechanism to flood events and understanding their behavior towards flood advisories. From this perspective, this study discusses the factors that influence how farmers behave toward the Flood Early Warning System's (FEWS) warnings with validation from the premises and core concepts of the Social Cognitive Theory. Survey results from eighty-eight (88) farmer respondents revealed that 'non-tangible results such as individual, social, and environmental factors should be considered in creating and disseminating flood advisories. The Chi-Square of Independence also showed that farmers have a high risk perception of flooding with significant regard to their flooding experiences linked with cognitive biases. Furthermore, results revealed that farmers are more exposed to traditional media channels and take into account their social influences specifically with family/community members in seeking warning information. Finally, this study highlights discussion on administrative, technical, and policy development changes with integration on social cognitive processes to motivate and promote response behavior among farmers and forming part in disaster preparedness.