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....

Land Use Conversion vs. Land Use Reclassification

Agricultural lands reclassified by the LGUs into non-agricultural purposes before the effectivity date of R.A.No. 6657 (CARP), that is, June 15, 1988 are not subject to Land Use Conversion Proceedings as made clear by Department of Justice (DOJ) Opinion No. 44, Series of 1990.  

Thus, all lands that are ALREADY CLASSIFIED as commercial, industrial or residential BEFORE 15 June 1988 NO LONGER NEED any land conversion. Moreover, Republic Act No. 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), Section 3, Paragraph (c) defines "agricultural land" as referring to "land devoted to agricultural activity as defined in this Act and not classified as mineral, forest, residential, commercial or industrial land."

If the land is reclassified before the effectivity of RA 6657 on June 15, 1988, it no longer requires land conversion process but an exemption clearance from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) instead. However, if the reclassification is done after the said date, the conversion process should be undertaken.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Opinion No. 44, Series of 1990 and the case of Natalia Realty vs. Department of Agrarian Reform (12 August 1993/225 SCRA 278) pronounces that with respect to the conversion of agricultural lands covered by RA No. 6657 to non-agricultural uses, the authority of the Department of Agrarian Reform to approve such conversion maybe exercised from the date of its effectivity on 15 June 1988.

Land Use Reclassification of agricultural lands refer to identifying the utilization of agricultural lands (whether agricultural use, residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) as expressed in the land use plan, which is subject to the requirements and procedures imposed by law for land use conversion, to be undertaken by a Local Government Unit (LGU) pursuant to Section 20 of Republic Act (R.A.) 7160 and Joint Memorandum Circular (MC-54-1995) executed by and between the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA),  Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). It also includes the reversion of non-agricultural lands to agricultural use.

Land use conversion is the act or process of changing the current physical use of a piece of agricultural land into some other use, as approved by Department of Agrarian Reform.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Opinion No. 44, the authority of DAR to allow conversion is not limited only to lands awarded under CARL. It is believed to be the intention of the Agrarian Reform (AR) Law that any conversion of private agricultural land to non-agricultural uses should be cleared beforehand by DAR. DOJ also expressed the view that conversions of agricultural lands covered by RA 6657 to non-agricultural uses, the authority of DAR to approve such conversion may be exercised from the date of the effectivity of the law.

(Cover photo courtesy of HLURB)

Link: PRIMER ON LAND USE CONVERSION