Livelihood transitions in most agricultural nations are conditioned by changes in both human and climate systems. In the Philippines, climate change related extreme weather events such as typhoons, floods, and droughts have detrimental impacts on crop production and have significantly affected the livelihoods of cash crop focused rural villages. A shift from crop to livestock production is emerging as a buffer activity to recover from crop losses; however, whether this adaptive response is viable is still unexplored. The aim of this study is to understand how farmers perceive water buffalo as a transformative opportunity and how they use water buffalo in the adaptation process to sustain their livelihoods when the climate becomes more volatile. Data were collected from farming villages in the Nueva Ecija province, the Philippines using mixed methods. It was found that farmers' livelihood patterns evolved as economic consequences of recurrent crop failures caused by typhoons, flooding, and dry spells. Farmers' changed their farming activities as an adaptive response driven by past experiences of climatic changes, farmers' social relations, household capacity, and resources available. The increasing trend of shifting to water buffalo dairying demonstrated farmers' preferences for less risky sources of income in lieu of the opportunities and options available. Thus, local adaptation can be understood to be an outcome of both farmers’ livelihood survival strategies and the institutional dynamics in their localities. The results imply a need to integrate adaptation programs that are linked to local livelihood development, particularly in the Carabao Development Program (CDP). This study concludes by suggesting issues to be considered for water buffalo dairying as a viable adaptation option for climate-resilient livelihoods.

大多数农业国家的生计转变都受到人类和气候系统变化的制约。在菲律宾，与气候变化有关的极端天气事件（例如台风，洪水和干旱）对农作物的生产产生了不利影响，并严重影响了以经济作物为重点的农村地区的生计。从农作物向家畜生产的转变正在作为缓冲活动从农作物损失中恢复过来。然而，这种适应性反应是否可行尚待探讨。这项研究的目的是了解农民如何将水牛视为一种转型机会，以及他们如何在适应过程中使用水牛来维持生计，因为气候变得更加动荡。数据是从新埃塞贾省的农业村庄收集的，菲律宾使用混合方法。人们发现，农民的生计方式是由于台风，洪水和干旱造成的反复作物歉收的经济后果而演变的。农民根据过去的气候变化，农民的社会关系，家庭能力和可用资源的经验来适应性地改变了他们的农业活动。转向水牛乳业的趋势日渐明显，表明农民倾向于选择风险较低的收入来源，以代替现有的机会和选择。因此，地方适应可以理解为农民生计生存策略和所在地区制度动态的结果。结果表明需要整合与当地生计发展相关的适应计划，特别是在卡拉宝开发计划（CDP）中。这项研究的结论是建议水牛乳业应作为气候适应性生计的可行适应方案加以考虑。