DAR-Cagayan revives and strengthens the BARANGAY AGRARIAN REFORM COMMITTEE (BARC)

The Department of Agrarian Reform-Cagayan Provincial Office in Tuguegarao recently conducted a two-day seminar for barangay leaders, farmer-leaders and agrarian reform beneficiaries to enable them to reorganize and strengthen the Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) in their respective barangays.

The BARC shall effect and facilitate the land transfer program in the barangays. It shall establish questions of fact, e.g. identification of lands to be covered and distributed, identification, screening and qualification of beneficiaries, identification of landowners, land valuation, perimeter surveys, information dissemination, etc.

The BARC functions as contained in Sec. 47 of R.A. 6657 are as follows: (1)  Assist in the identification of qualified beneficiaries and landowners in the barangay; (2)   Attest to the accuracy of the initial parcellary mapping of the beneficiary's tillage; (3) Assist in the initial determination of the value of the land; (4) Mediating local agrarian disputes among farmers and landowners alike, among others. The BARC shall endeavor to resolve these disputes as far as practicable, within the confines of the community. The BARC shall closely coordinate and establish linkages with local conflict resolution bodies such as the Lupong Tagapayapa on issues which shall expedite CARP implementation and avoid delays brought about by tedious courtroom procedures.

Further, the BARC shall identify possible opportunities for the provision of specific support services based on felt needs, such as coordinate the delivery of support services to beneficiaries and assist qualified beneficiaries in obtaining credit from lending institutions

A related purpose shall be that of providing the community a forum for ventilating agrarian reform issues whereupon local farmers organizations shall be given the opportunity to directly propose and advocate policies.

The Philippine Constitution also expressly provides that the state shall recognize the right of the farmers, farmworkers, and landowners, as well as cooperatives and other independent farmers organizations to participate in the planning, organization and management of the (agrarian reform) program (ART. XIII, Sec. 5). The provision embodies the goal of "people empowerment" as an indispensable element in broadening the base of our democracy.

The passage of Executive Order No. 229 further affirmed this commitment to building a community-based implementing and coordinating mechanism for the agrarian reform program by providing for the establishment of the Barangay Agrarian Reform Council. In line with the policy of encouraging people's initiative and self-reliance, the law provided that the BARC shall operate on a self-help bases.

Subsequently, R.A. 6657 (CARP) restated the government's adherence to participatory development and vested the BARC with additional functions such as among others, identification of beneficiaries, land valuation, etc. The CARL likewise changed the nomenclature of the BARC from "council" to "committee".

The composition of the BARC shall be in accordance with proportionate sectoral representation on the basis of the land-to-the-tiller principle. Hence, bigger sectors shall have bigger representation in the BARC.

The membership of the BARC shall be in accord with the basic requirements of E.O. 229 and shall have regular voting members and ex-officio non-voting members. Regular members shall be limited to residents of the barangay. On the other hand, the ex-officio members shall comprise representatives of government agencies and the barangay council. With the predominance of barangay residents in its membership, the regular functioning of the BARC shall be ensured.

The BARC shall have:

A. Seven REGULAR VOTING MEMBERS composed of: Four representatives of farmer/farmworker beneficiaries which shall be composed of representatives of the following sectors: (a) landless farmworkers (whether regular, seasonal, or other farmworkers); (b) share tenant; (c) lessee (to include ISF beneficiaries); and (d) amortizing owner (EP/CLT holder, etc.). One representative of farmer/farmworker non-beneficiaries. This sector shall be represented by small owner-cultivators i.e., those who own not more than 5 hectares of agricultural land and are actually tilling the land either by himself or with the help of family labor and/or hired farmworkers. One representative of agricultural cooperatives/farmers organization. This sector shall be represented from a functional and barangay-based farmers organization or a cooperative. The cooperative should have a majority of tillers in its membership. One representative of landowner. The sector shall include small (w/5 hectares or less) but non-cultivating landowners.

B. Six EX-OFFICIO NON-VOTING MEMBERS composed of one (1) representative each from the following: Department of Agrarian Reform - (DAR Agrarian Reform Technologist assigned to the area who shall act as the Secretary); Department of Agriculture; Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Land Bank of the Philippines; Barangay Council; and Locally based non-government organizational (NGO). These are NGOs based on the municipal or provincial level.

The BARC shall also have its Officers and Committees. The elected sectoral representatives shall elect among themselves a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, and an Assistant Secretary. All elected BARC officers shall be residents of the barangay. The BARC (consisting of both the voting and non-voting members) shall form different committees based on need and priority activities. The BARC representatives shall likewise select the committee heads as appropriate.

The Department shall facilitate the formation of BARCs in barangays which have expressed needs for one and primarily in, but not limited to, priority areas and municipalities. The process of organizing shall reflect to the fullest extent, the intention of the law to allow meaningful participation of all concerned sectors.

Elected representatives shall serve a maximum of two (2) years. Any elected BARC representatives who fails to fulfill his duties and responsibilities or fails to live up to the expectations of the sector he represents may be removed before the expiration of his term by majority vote of the members of the sectoral group. Officers of the BARC shall serve at the pleasure of the committee and may be removed by simple majority vote or upon serving the maximum period of two (2) years.

The DAR’s thrusts and programs were also discussed during the event wherein the participants expressed their sincere desire to strengthen and seriously participate in the implementation of the agrarian reform program to bring about the benefits of rural development in their respective communities.

Supreme Court says Deeds of Sale and TCTs executed without DAR Clearance may be cancelled by DARAB.

In a Decision issued by the Supreme Court in the case of DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM v. IGMIDIO D. ROBLES (GR No. 190482, Dec 09, 2015), the Court ruled that the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) has jurisdiction over cancellation of deeds of absolute sale and the Transfer Certificates of Titles where such transactions were executed without prior DAR Clearance. 

DAR clearance is required for the transfer or sale of any agricultural land to ensure that the transferee or buyer will not own more than 5 hectares of agricultural land as a result of the transfer or sale pursuant to Section 6, R.A. 6657 which provides: 

SECTION 6. Retention Limits. — Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no person may own or retain, directly or indirectly, any public or private agricultural land, the size of which shall vary according to factors governing a viable family-size farm, such as commodity produced, terrain, infrastructure, and soil fertility as determined by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) created hereunder, but in no case shall retention by the landowner exceed five (5) hectares. Three (3) hectares may be awarded to each child of the landowner, subject to the following qualifications: (1) that he is at least fifteen (15) years of age; and (2) that he is actually tilling the land or directly managing the farm: Provided, That landowners whose lands have been covered by Presidential Decree No. 27 shall be allowed to keep the areas originally retained by them thereunder: Provided, further, That original homestead grantees or their direct compulsory heirs who still own the original homestead at the time of the approval of this Act shall retain the same areas as long as they continue to cultivate said homestead.

The right to choose the area to be retained, which shall be compact or contiguous, shall pertain to the landowner: Provided, however, That in case the area selected for retention by the landowner is tenanted, the tenant shall have the option to choose whether to remain therein or be a beneficiary in the same or another agricultural land with similar or comparable features. In case the tenant chooses to remain in the retained area, he shall be considered a leaseholder and shall lose his right to be a beneficiary under this Act. In case the tenant chooses to be a beneficiary in another agricultural land, he loses his right as a leaseholder to the land retained by the landowner. The tenant must exercise this option within a period of one (1) year from the time the landowner manifests his choice of the area for retention. In all cases, the security of tenure of the farmers or farm workers on the land prior to the approval of this Act shall be respected.

Upon the effectivity of this Act, any sale, disposition, lease, management, contract or transfer of possession of private lands executed by the original landowner in violation of the Act shall be null and void: Provided, however, That those executed prior to this Act shall be valid only when registered with the Register of Deeds within a period of three (3) months after the effectivity of this Act. Thereafter, all Registers of Deeds shall inform the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) within thirty (30) days of any transaction involving agricultural lands in excess of five (5) hectares.

Press Release: 

DAR Clarifies Issue Of Land Clearance

 DAR crafts new rules on land transfer 

Farmers experience increased production under Sugacane Block Farms

Sometime in the year 2013, the Department ofAgrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the SugarRegulatory Authority (SRA) started the Sugarcane Block Farms project, with nineteen (19) pilot sites most of which are in Negros Occidental. As a consequence thereof, it was shown that the pilot sites posted an average increase of 29 percent in farm productivity for the crop year 2013-2014 after a year of operation. It was also established that the block farms had an average increase from 50.78 tons cane per hectare (TC/Ha) to 65.29 TC/Ha during the period. All the pilot block farms showed increases in productivity ranging from 7.47 percent to 100 percent after receiving capacity-building, technical assistance, farm planning, and farm management support from SRA.

The Sugarcane Block Farm in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, specially, the Hacienda Bernardita Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative experienced a 7.47 percent increase in production, from its traditional production of 77 TC/Ha to 82.75 TC/Ha. A similar experience was also posted by the North Cluster Producers Cooperative in Paniqui, Tarlac which involved a 100 percent increase in productivity from 50 TC/Ha to 100 TC/Ha. Consequently, the average 29 percent increase in productivity resulted to an average increase of the agrarian reform beneficiaries’ (ARBs) income by P39,815 per hectare, at 1.96 Lkg per TC.

The SBF project includes trainings on Sugarcane high-yeild varieties production and management. 

In Cagayan province, Sugarcane Block Farms started in 2016-2017 through the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) project covering the Bugnay Farmers Marketing Cooperative in Tuao, Cagayan and the Mabuhay Agri-Crops MPC in Piat, Cagayan. The 2017-2018 FBS project included the Bantay Farmers Producers Cooperative in Solana, Cagayan and Pinoy Bagong Pagasa Marketing Cooperative in Tuao, Cagayan. For the 2018-2019 SBF projects, the ARBOs to be enrolled are Roma Sur MPC in Enrile, Cagayan and Villarey ARB Cooperative in Piat, Cagayan.

Cagayan SBF ARBOs enrolled under the SBF project are provided farm machines to ensure the sustainability of the project. 

The DAR-DA/SRA Sugarcane Block Farms (SBF) project involves the consolidation of the management of small farms of less than five hectares, into a bigger but contiguous unit of at least 30 hectares for purposes of improving farm productivity while individual ownership by the ARB is maintained.

Information gathered from SRA shows that about 85 percent of sugarcane farms in the country have areas below five hectares due the widespread coverage of agri lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), subdivision of lands by inheritance, sale, etc.

Sugarcane is a plantation crop and its cost-efficiency ratio is achieved with large farm sizes such as 30 hectares and above, small sugarcane farmers cannot avail of the benefits of economies of scale, such as reduced prices of inputs for bulk purchases, etc. The present ARB-land owners also do not have the capability to provide the needed farm inputs resulting to lower production, it is also aggravated by the lower price offered by millers except for large volume transactions. 

The Sugarcane Block Farms project aims to consolidated small sugarcane farms into larger agribusiness ventures, improved farm management and mechanized farming by the ARB’s through provision of essential technical, financial, production and marketing support services under the project. At the end of their enrollment under the SBF project, these ARBOs shall be able to operate the sugarcane block farms as a business and become a major industry player through economies of scale.

ARB management skills enhanced by DAR-CDA Partnership II

     The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Cagayan province is presently assisting 59 agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) composed of more than forty agrarian reform beneficiaries’ cooperatives. One component of DAR’s assistance is the organizational management aspect composed of local capability building activities for the proper management of these farmers’ cooperatives by the Coop officers. This is being undertaken in partnership with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

   Being the lead agency in cooperative development, the Cooperative Development Authority provides technical assistance to the ARB Cooperatives which include trainings, pre-registration seminars, mentoring, coaching, consultancy, bookkeeping, accounting, auditing, assistance on regulatory requirements, etc. The CDA also provides assistance for the rehabilitation of agrarian reform beneficiaries’ cooperatives.

     To strengthen this joint efforts, the DAR and the CDA entered into a Memorandum of Agreement renewing their respective commitments to promote and strengthen the ARB cooperatives and to ensure the sustainability of the cooperative enterprise activities.  The program, which is dubbed as DAR-CDA Partnership II, intends to put in place a capacity development (CAPDEV) initiative, among others, to improve service delivery to their members and positively giving impact to their business performance and operations.

   For the DAR Provincial Office of Cagayan, most of the ARBO-cooperatives have already completed the mandatory trainings for cooperatives under the partnership except for the newly organized cooperatives and the ARB organizations/associations who have recently decided to convert into agrarian reform beneficiaries’ cooperatives who need to undergo trainings on cooperative operation and management.

    These capability building activities and enterprise management trainings are significantly important at present because these ARBOs in Cagayan are recipients of farm machineries such as hand-tractors, mechanical tillers, four-wheel drive tractors, combine harvesters, hauling trucks, etc. As such, it is essential that they are equipped with the knowledge and capacities to operate these multi-million peso assets into a viable income generating business enterprises for their cooperatives.

    The present government under the Duterte Administration has made it possible for viable ARB cooperatives to access farm machineries to maximize farm productivity pursuant to the food security program and increase their income to counter the adverse effects of climate change.

   The Memorandum of Agreement seeks to renew DAR and CDA’s commitment to develop functional agrarian reform cooperatives managing profitable and sustainable enterprises in order to better serve their members and contribute in improving the quality of life of ARBs, their household and rural women. Generally, it aims to support the government’s program of reducing poverty through cooperatives.

Biyaya ng Pagbabago to bring poverty alleviation programs to the communities

   Biyaya ng Pagbabago Tungo sa Masagana at Matiwasay na Buhay Pilipino (Biyaya ng Pagbabago) program was initiated by the Office of the CabinetSecretary (OCS), in partnership with the KilusangPagbabago movement, to bring various poverty alleviation programs of the national government to the communities.  It was officially launched sometime in December 2017.

    It is a national program on self-reliance and active citizenship, a movement that intertwines the different communities throughout the country, with the threads of capacity building and participatory governance. This initiative is in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to create a better and more developed country for all Filipinos. It also enjoins other agencies and civil society groups to commit to the administration’s goal of alleviating poverty.

   There are three key objectives of the program: (1) for government services to become more responsive, adequate, timely and effectively delivered to those that need it the most; (2) for citizens to be more proactive and communities more empowered in participatory governance and in inclusive economic development; and (3) for a whole of government, sector and area-focused poverty alleviation strategy to be fully operationalized.

     The venture is also in line with the administration’s promise to empower Filipino families and, subsequently, to meet the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) ‎2017-2022 target of reducing poverty from 21.6 percent to 14 percent (approximately 6 million Filipinos) by 2022.

    Participating agencies for the “Biyaya ng Pagbabago” include the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA); Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC); National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC); National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP); National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF); National Food Authority (NFA); National Youth Commission (NYC); Presidential Action Center (PACE); Philippine Commission on Women (PCW); Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA); Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP); and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). 
     The Kilusang Pagbabago acknowledges the importance of community participation for programs and services to reach the grassroots level. One of its roles, having members in every barangay, is to help the Office of the Participatory Governance in identifying the needs of people at the communities. It will likewise serve as a watchdog in the implementation of the Biyaya ng Pagbabago program, as well as in the criminality and anti-illegal drugs programs of the Duterte administration. The Kilusang Pagbabago will continue to push for communities' awareness on the poverty alleviation, criminality, and anti-drugs programs of the President. Source: PCOO, PIA

ROBA ARC counters Climate Change hazards with Bamboo Plantation

      The municipality of Enrile in Cagayan province is on the frequent path of typhoons. It is often visited by other disasters such as flood, man-made and other natural calamities. According to the climate projection of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), unfavourable changes in climate conditions will be expected in 2006-2035 for the southern part of Cagayan where Enrile is located. Such changes may have direct or indirect effect on the farming activities of the ROBA Agrarian Reform Community (ROBA ARC) farmers. Temperature in the area is projected to increase at an average of 0.9 degree Celsius in 2006-2035 (2020). Temperature will be highest in months of June-August. PAGASA also projects significant increase in rainfall by 16.3% in months of September-November when the season of corn planting starts, which is an alarming increase in all aspects of climate events. ROBA ARC is also threatened by the projected tripling in the number of days with rainfall above 200 mm. Heavy rainfall is identified as the primary cause of soil erosion in the area. Eroded farms may eventually result to loss of livelihood of the farmers.

Enrile town in Cagayan province is easily flooded during typhoon season and wrecks havoc on farms along Cagayan River. Photo: LGU-Cagayan

     Roma Sur Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Roma Sur MPC) is the lead agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organization (ARBO) within the ROBA ARC located in the municipality of Enrile, Cagayan which embraces barangays Roma Sur, Roma Norte and Batu (with Liwan Norte and San Antonio as expansion barangays).  

     To counter the devastating effects of climate change in their community, members of Roma Sur MPC was able to access a total of P716,230 (P650,000 from DAR; P20,000 from LGU and P40,230 as its counterpart) for funding a project entitled: The Promotion of Climate Change Adaptive Measures to Counter Adverse Effects in ROBA ARC (Planting of Bamboo Along Contours and Riverbanks with Climate Change Adaptation Capability Training). The project was duly approved under DAR’s Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) services.

Roma Sur MPC in ROBA ARC was able to acquire funds from DAR-CRFPS for a Bamboo Plantation project. (Photo by: Lau Miguel)

     The project provides environmental protection through the planting of bamboo along the contours and riverbanks which primarily addresses the concern on the rapid erosion and disappearance of farmlands near the Cagayan River.  This component is being pursued in close partnership with the LGU and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It also involves the establishment of a five thousand square-meter Bamboo Nursery for the propagation of propagules locally known as Kawayan Tinik and Bayog after which they are planted into a five-hectare plantation both managed by the ARBO. The five-hectare bamboo plantation will be the source for the of the member’s income generating project.  

Bamboo seedlings for the Nursery. (Photo by: Lau Miguel) 

      The remaining propagules will be sold at reasonable price so as to generate income and portion of the money raised will be used again for the next cycle of the bamboo propagule-growing to cater to the additional demands on bamboo seedlings. This is a cost recovery and an income generating project. Net proceeds will be capitalized on the next batch of bamboo production making the project self-liquidating and sustainable.

      The bamboo harvested from the project will become a sustainable source of raw materials for the bamboo craft industry of the ARB organization and for other bamboo requirements of third parties such as construction scaffolding, bahay-kubo builders, bamboo furniture, etc. As part of their community involvement and contribution to the overall development goal of the Municipality, the cooperative will provide a portion of seedlings to the LGU as their counterpart to the Greening Program of the municipality.

    The member of the ARBO were also provided with capability training on Climate Change Adaptation and Bamboo Farming. Climate change is a phenomenon that needs to be fully understood by everyone.  The series of events that led to drastic changes in weather patterns, which now threatens the lives, livelihood and practically the very existence of this civilization, is not singlehandedly accounted to an act, a group or an individual for that matter. 

      Climate change is an effect of the collaborative actions, and sometimes inaction, of a generation so much bent on consumerism – the resultant culture of industrialization.  To counter its impact and reverse its consequences, whenever possible, its origins, nature, effects and countermeasures were studied and explained.

    Incorporating further in the capability building were skills training on bamboo farming to strengthen the capacity of ARBs to handle and manage the project effectively. The farmers, their organizations, households and their entire community were encouraged to learn adaptive measures and put into practice eco-friendly technologies in their day-to-day activities.
     Machineries and equipment were provided as part of the mechanization aspect for easier and timely production and postharvest operations.  It reduces drudgery of field work and lowers production costs. These machineries and equipment would be very essential in the production activities of the project i.e. hauling of seedlings from nursery to plantation, plantation site (harvested bamboo poles) to production and manufacturing center of furniture and handicrafts (ARBO’s existing enterprise), it will also function as service vehicle of the ARBO for the delivery of pre-ordered furniture and seedlings trading.  Aside from these inevitable uses, said machineries can also be utilize in other farm activities of farmer-members. Suggested machineries can be an income generating equipment itself through custom hiring. The ARBO could maximize the utilization of the equipment and have an extra earnings since custom hiring is a growing industry now a days because of the emerging trend in farm mechanization. 

Farm machineries for the Bamboo Plantation project were also provided. 

     The Roma Sur MPC has long acknowledged the potential of bamboo furniture as an income source.  For several years, members of this cooperative in ROBA ARC have augmented their farm income from the sale of sala sets, chairs, tables, beds and lampshades made of bamboo.  However, the production of good quality furniture is hampered by the lack of technology and the insufficient supply of bamboo to the ARC. Bamboo farming and bamboo processing are well suited to the twin concerns of livelihood enhancement and environmental protection – the key components for developing third world countries today. The production of these products can be organized and formed as industries that provide material benefits and livelihood development to the people.

     Climate impacts do not affect all communities equally. The region's most vulnerable areas, including low-income communities, often bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts. Geography also determines a community's exposure to climate effects. For instance, communities have greater exposure to flooding based on their underlying natural landscapes, infrastructure capacities, and impervious surface coverage. To successfully build climate resilience, the region must address the complex intersections of these built, natural, and social systems.

      The municipality of Enrile in Cagayan province is one of the most vulnerable areas, being located among the low-income communities. It often endures a disproportionate burden of climate impacts. It has a greater exposure to flooding due to typhoons and heavy rains which always challenges its move towards attaining a sustainable agro-industrial growth. To successfully build climate resilience, the community must address the compound intersections of natural and social systems affecting its existence. One of these measures is the Bamboo plantation in the ROBA Agrarian Reform Community. /with Marvi Trinidad-Bulan

DAR-WFP partnership for Food Security in ARCs

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance not only in emergencies but also working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

Climate change has brought hunger and  poverty . 

The WFP also offers technical assistance and capacity strengthening for appropriate sustainable food security and nutrition solutions which include enhancing capacity for emergency preparedness and response, logistics, and supply chain management; strengthening risk reduction capabilities through social safety nets; and bolstering climate risk management, adaptation and resilience including matter on nutrition.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), on the other hand is mandated among other tasks, to uplift living standards of rural landless by allocating land rights to and through provision of complementary support for agrarian reform beneficiaries especially in agrarian reform communities (ARCs).

Pursuant thereto, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) recently forged an agreement to develop and implement programs towards land tenure improvement and increasing agricultural productivity, promote social protection and climate resilience in agrarian reform communities (ARCs).

The primary tasks under this partnership is to publish an atlas that would be used as essential reference materials for strategic planning and policy formulation for land tenure improvement and support services, food security and social protection programs and projects. This initially involves gathering data, monitoring and assessing information for the book that would be called The Philippine Food and Nutrition Security Atlas. The monitoring system will use indicators on food security, poverty reduction and capacity building on data collection, processing and reporting.

As agreed upon by both parties, the DAR and the WFP shall work together in providing inputs to the joint publication of the Philippine Food and Nutrition Security Atlas. They shall likewise work together in overseeing and supervising activities on programs and projects on disaster preparedness and climate resilience measures. The partnership will be in effect until 2020.

In a recently conducted DAR-WFP orientation-workshop pertaining thereto, it was informed that there are in fact ARCs where farmer-beneficiaries are experiencing food insecurity while in some areas, cases of stunting and various forms of malnutrition exists among members of the farmer-households.  The tasks of addressing these concerns is within the ambit of the DAR-WFP partnership, in addition to ensuring food security in all agrarian reform communities and agrarian reform areas.

The right to food of all Filipinos has yet to be fully realized owing to: a lack of a national right to food strategy/framework; conflicting laws and policies especially on land use and trade liberalization, etc. -Focus on the Global South (NGO)

ARBOs in Cagayan province receive farm machineries

TUGUEGARAO CITY, CAGAYAN. It is the month of February and the farmers in Cagayan province are already warry of the coming summer months where temperatures historically rise to record breaking highs which usually result to disastrous consequences on their crops. But this time, they are confident that this year’s adverse effects of climate change may be mitigated through the DAR-CRFPS project.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is presently implementing a program to address the catastrophic effects of climate change among its agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) through the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) project wherein it aims to increase farm productivity and income of ARBs and members of their household in ARCs through mechanized farming. This strategy is expected to maximize the productivity and utilization of farm lands and ensure food self-sufficiency.

Mechanized farming basically involves the provision of tractors, mechanical seeders, planters and harvesters. The qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) are provided with farm machineries by DAR through the CRFPS project who shall operate and maintain the same. The members of the ARBO then hire the services of these machineries such as tractors, combine harvesters, etc for a discounted fee. Non-members may also avail of these service but on the regular fees prescribed by the ARBO-operators. Fees collected by the ARBO shall be used for the maintenance and for purchase of other farm machineries as needed. Mechanized farming involves preparing the farm, seeding, transplanting and harvesting.

Mechanized farming among agrarian reform communities finds inspiration in the very successful farm practices in Barangay Halang, Naic, Cavite, with Bernabe Buscayno, the former rebel leader of the New People’s Army (NPA). Buscayno has shown that Filipino farmers can be competitive in rice production if it adopts the farm mechanization technology. He said that among the rice producing countries in Asia, the Philippines is  lagging behind by producing only about four tons of palay per hectare. Taiwan is producing about 10 tons, Japan, 12 tons, and China, 17 tons because they have adopted full farm mechanization.

The DAR-CRFPS project also encourages Filipino farmers and their children to go back to farming and produce more. Further, other ARBs who are not yet members of ARBOs would be encouraged to join in order to avail of the services of these machineries at lower fees, in addition to receiving dividends as members of the ARBO.  

In Cagayan province, there are fourteen ARBOs who are recipients of various farm machineries under the project, from hand tractors to 90HP four-wheel drive tractors and 70 HP combine harvesters. Under the 2017 DAR-CRFPS project, five (5) units of 90HP 4WD tractors and four (4) units of  60 HP combine harvesters were procured, among several others. The five (5) units of 7 HP hand tractors with disc plow, harrow, leveler, and trailer were earlier delivered to three ARBOs; one (1) unit mechanical shredder was also recently delivered to an ARBO in Rizal, Cagayan; another two (2) units of 7 HP floating tillers with rotovator were also delivered to an ARBO in Gattaran, Cagayan. A total of fourteen ARBOs shall benefit from these farm machineries. 

The ARBs can now have access to these farm machineries because no less than Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself ordered the removal of costly financial counterparts/equity in general on the part of farmer-beneficiaries. In addition to farm machineries, the DAR-CRFPS project also provides funding for solar pump irrigation systems, three of which are already installed in the three pilot sites in Cagayan managed and operated by the qualified ARBOs. Majority of the ARBO-recipients of these farm machineries are farmers cooperatives who are the lead organizations in agrarian reform communities (ARCs). 

Other prospective ARBOs were likewise encouaged to improve their organizational management capabilities and prepare other requirements as discussed during the 2017 ARBO Summit wherein the programs and projects of the Duterte Administration where also presented by representatives from Kilusang Pagbabago (KP-Cagayan Valley Lead Organization) and the Office of Participatory Governance (OPG) as part of the discussions on empowering the farmers through Participatory Governance. 

Five ARBOs in Cagayan will receive these 70HP 4-wheel drive tractors with accessories

The Rice Combine Harvester makes the harvesting process easier by combining six operations such as gathering, transporting, reaping, threshing, cleaning and bagging into one machine. 

The farm machineries include complete accessories to maximize its utilization by the various ARBOs. 

Machines and implements of this type provide the small farmer with a means of farm power suited to his farm size and income.

Two Cagayan (Valley) OFWs rescued from abusive employers in Saudi Arabia

TUGUEGARAO CITY, CAGAYAN. February 14, 2018 - Two more Oversees Filipino Workers, Jenalyn Tumbali of Penablanca, Cagayan and Rovelyn Orlanda from Baggao, Cagayan were rescued from their abusive employers in Saudi Arabia after posting their urgent calls for help seen by their relatives and friends on social media site Facebook. They immediately sought the intervention of Kilusang Pagbabago-Region 2 on its Facebook page.

Both OFWs’ plight and cries for help were urgently brought to the attention of the Kilusang Pagbabago-Cagayan Valley through Facebook. Upon seeing their posts, KP-Cagayan Valley immediately brought their requests for assistance to the Oversees Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Regional Office in Tuguegarao City who acted promptly by immediately coordinating with the concerned offices and institutions like the Philippine Embassy and the recruitment agency resulting to the rescue and abrupt repatriation of the distressed OFWs who were victims of maltreatment in Saudi Arabia.

After  merely seventy-two hours when KP-Cagayan Valley acted on the FB posts, OFW Jenalyn Tumbali was able to post on her Facebook page that her flight to Manila will be on February 14, 2018 after Philippine authorities were able to legally arrange the necessary activities to facilitate her return to Manila. Sources indicate that OFW Rovelyn Orlando's case is now being addressed by Philippine officials in Saudi Arabia.  The story was followed through radio stations Bombo Radyo and Radyo Ng Bayan.

The Kilusang Pagbabago (KP) is a purely volunteer movement for a REAL CHANGE, inspired by the President Duterte’s call, and by the persevering effort of Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco to consolidate and institutionalize active citizens participation in governance, the formation of Kilusang Pagbabago is being spearheaded by most of the core members of Duterte’s campaign teams in various regions during the presidential election campaign period.

The Kilusang Pagbabago can be described as the "Couterpart-Citizens-Extension" of the Duterte government’s desire to effect real social change because it professes to be “for the helpless, hopeless, defenseless” and vows to make “tinud- anay nga kausaban (REAL CHANGE)" in politics, economics, military, culture and foreign relations. It is directly linked to the Office of the Cabinet Secretary through the Office of Participatory Governance (OPG) in Malacanang.

During the height of the crisis, the families of the OFWs were assisted at OWWA-Region 2 by Vircy Tamayao, Head of Program and Services; Juvilyn Anns Gumabay, Welfare Case Officer; Luzviminda Tumaliuan, Education and Training Unit;  and Pilipina Dino, Regional Director. Also present at the OWWA office were Kilusang Pagbabago-Cagayan Valley officers - Romulo Gabertan-KP Regional Coordinator; Nap Baltazar-KP Program Director; and Nathaniel Gumangan, KP-PRO. (Photos courtesy of Nathaniel Gumangan, PRO, KP-Cagayan Valley)

Jenelyn Tumbali from Penablanca, Cagayan is a domestic helper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Roverlyn Orlanda, from Baggao, Cagayan initially sought help on social media Facebook page when relatives and friends saw her posts on Facebook. The latter immediately sought help through Kilusang Pagbabago-Cagayan Valley.

KP -Cagayan Valley officials immediately accompanied the OWFs' relatives to OWWA Region 2 for help.

KP-Cagayan Valley and OWWA Region 2 officials successfully coordinated with the concerned agencies resulting to the rescue of the abused OFWs.

Coming home finally....