Filipino agrarian expert Julita Ragandang gestures as she briefs journalists Monday 19 June 2006 on the progress of the government's land reform program in the southern Philippine region. Ragandang says more than 214,000 hectares have been distributed to small farmers the past years under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. (Zamboanga Journal)ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 19 Jun) More than 214,000 hectares of agricultural lands have been distributed to small farmers in Zamboanga Peninsula and Basilan island and agrarian officials said Monday the government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in Western Mindanao is successful.
Julita Ragandang, regional director of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), said over 60,000 mostly farmers benefited from the CARP in the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur and in the cities of Zamboanga, Lamitan and Isabela in Basilan island.
"We are happy to note that the CARP is successful in Western Mindanao and we are now working on sustaining the momentum of the program to support the increase demand for other services in dozens of agrarian reform communities in the region," Ragandang said at a news conference here.
She said the CARP has transformed farmers into small entrepreneurs, but she admitted the lack of government funding is making it difficult for them to carry out an extensive inventory of agricultural lands in the region which have not been accounted for.
"We have already distributed more than 98 percent of agricultural lands, but there are still vast tracks of lands that need to be placed under the CARP and the lack of funding to survey these areas are making it difficult for us to carry out important inventories," she said.
Ragandang said despite the lack of funding, the DAR in Western Mindanao ranked number 1 in land acquisition and distribution from all over the country. "Land owners are very cooperative and that's why we managed to distribute more than 214,000 hectares of agricultural lands to our farmers," she said.
The passage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), Republic Act 6655, in 1988 was hailed as a historic occasion. CARL promised to redistribute agricultural lands -- in several phases -- to those who actually till them, the farmers.
The CARP is primarily a social reform measure and addresses the need for a more equitable distribution of land ownership. Its end-goal is to improve the standards of living of beneficiaries and promote greater economic activity in the rural areas.
Most of the government funding for CARP came from the recovered P50-billion of the so-called Marcos' ill-gotten wealth, however, only P10 billion was allocated to the DAR, the rest of the money was distributed to other agencies, including P8-million for human rights victims under then President Ferdinand Marcos.
The annual budget of CARP implementing agencies goes through a process, starting from the evaluation of their performance for prior years. This not only serves as a checks-and-balance mechanism, it also assures that their activities will be in line with the priorities and thrusts of the agrarian reform program.
Aside from land distribution, Ragandang said farmers in agrarian reform communities who formed themselves into cooperatives also benefited from many government and foreign-funded development projects, like farm-to-market roads, bridges, potable water and irrigation systems, post-harvest facilities, health stations, solar electricity and construction of school buildings, that helped tens of thousands of residents and spured economy in their areas.
She said Spain, Japan and Belgium, including the World Bank, among others have provided aids and grants to the farmers since 1996.
"Our farmers are lucky because these countries and financial institutions are helping us in the implementation of the government land reform program and we are working hard to get more assistance, especially from the Spanish and Belgian governments and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, to help more beneficiaries," Ragandang said.
Early this month, Ragandang accompanied Ambassador Gregoire Vardakis of Belgium on a mountain village in Basilan to inspect a huge rubber plantation, where Brussels is funding several agrarian projects in the restive island.
Vardakis, together with Peter D' Huys, a Belgian agrarian expert, toured June 8 a 500-ha. rubber farm operated by the Lamitan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative, one of eight supported by Brussels under the Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Programme (BIARSP).
"The program brought a lot of hope for many people in Basilan and we will continue to support the agrarian reform projects on the island as part of Belgium's assistance to the Philippines," Vardakis said.
It was the first visit of a high-ranking Belgian government official in Basilan since 1998 after renegade members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front seized two Belgian nationals, Lieven dela Marche, an agrarian expert, and Erick Brack, a journalist. They were snatched while boating off Basilan and freed weeks later after negotiators paid a ransom.
Vardakis said he was not afraid to go to Basilan again. He also inspected two school houses and inaugurated a public latrine and several classrooms, including an ongoing farm-to-market road project funded by Brussels.
Ragandang said the BIARSP is a joint effort between the governments of Belgium and the Philippines to make the agrarian reform agenda in the country succeed.
In Basilan alone, the Belgian government spent over P45 million since 1999 to support agrarian reform programs of the different cooperatives on the island, she said.
She said almost all of the agrarian reform communities in Basilan were recipients of many awards and recognitions from Land Bank of the Philippines and Cooperative Development of the Philippines and other financial institutions because of their successful programs. "We are proud of what we have achieved in Basilan and DAR and Belgium have transformed the island into a productive agrarian model in the country," she said.
This Belgian aid stands out as a morale-booster for the still unfinished agrarian reform process. It is touted to be the biggest grant ever given to the agrarian reform sector in the Philippines. The aid converges within the framework of poverty alleviation and partnerships within broad sections of society.
Brussels has supported the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in the Philippines since 1995. The first project, the Belgian Agrarian Reform Support Project (BARSP) covered 3 provinces of Region VII and was limited to the enhancement of agricultural productivity.
In March 1998, the programme played a pioneering role compared to other foreign projects assisting the agrarian reform communities by adding a social dimension to it -- health and education aside from rural infrastructure and water supply and sanitation.
The area coverage extended to the whole of Central Visayas and Western Mindanao and Basilan island, which is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The BIARSP is implemented in phases: Phase 1 started in March 1998 to August 2000. Phase II commenced in September 2000 and ended in August of 2003. A Phase III was granted and planned for duration of 4 years starting September 2003. It will end in August 2007, according to D' Huys.
He said the last and third phase of BIARSP is a logical continuation of the work carried out under the previous phases to properly integrate management and implementation into the existing relevant institutions for them to be fully prepared to continue the work without essential assistance.
"Due assistance is given to convergence, coordination, and networking with partners and other organizations to optimize the impact of the programme and of similar rural development projects," D' Huys said, adding, Belgium has granted more than P800 million in grants and assistance to help the agrarian reform programs in the Philippines.
At present, there are 13 agrarian reform communities (ARC) in Basilan: The United Workers Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-purpose Cooperative in Isabela City; The Latuan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association Inc., also in Isabela; Sta. Clara Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative, Inc., in Lamitan town; Lamitan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative also in the same town; the Tipo-Tipo Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Agricultural Development Cooperative in Tipo-Tipo town; the Tipo-Tipo Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative; the Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative in Sumisip town.
The others are the East Sumisip Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative in Sumisip town; the Cabato Tahajid Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative also in Sumisip; Mangal Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in Sumisip town; Canas Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Agricultural Development Cooperative in the town of Maluso and the Tairan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Agricultural Multi-purpose Cooperative in Lantawan town.
Aside from the ARCs, he said the Department of Agrarian Reform also helped in putting up a resettlement area in Sumisip with 4 agrarian reform Cooperatives — the Alih, Ismael, Muhtamad Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-purpose Cooperative; the Sampinit Agrarian Reform Program Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative; the Baiwas Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative and East Mahatallang Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-purpose Cooperative.Almost half of Basilan's 135,892 hectares are planted to coconut (67,638 has.), coffee (16,546 has.) and rubber (10,660 has.) and the rest to bananas, cassava, corn, rice, cacao and black pepper, but some 40,650 hectares are still covered by thick forests.
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