“PelikulAgraryo 2025” - A Cinematic Salute to Farmers’ Untold Stories

TUGUEGARAO CITY, June 13, 2025 - Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) in Cagayan Valley are stepping out of the fields and onto the screen, as DAR Region 02 unveils PelikulAgraryo 2025, a short-film competition that puts farmers at the heart of the story.

Lights, Camera, Agraryo! This year’s DAR Central and Regional Film Festival (DARCRFF) challenges tertiary-level students, especially from Cagayan State University-Carig Campus, to direct and produce short films that give voice to real experiences of land reform beneficiaries, cooperatives, and ARBO-led initiatives.

According to DAR Cagayan Valley Regional Director Primo C. Lara, the event is more than a creative showcase: it’s a platform to bridge generational divides, making agrarian reform issues relatable and emotionally resonant, especially for the youth.

Fresh Voices Illuminate Rural Realities. Past editions in Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, and Nueva Vizcaya provinces have shown the power of story: student filmmakers crafted narratives that blended legal battles, multigenerational wisdom, and the triumph of securing land titles.

One such film depicts a beneficiary’s journey from landlessness to cultivating ownership through Project SPLIT. Others highlight challenges, like protecting ancestral land or preserving agrarian legacy. These stories have captivated both judges and audiences.

Youth + Roots = Rural Renaissance. “Students are often unaware of agrarian reform’s impact,” DAR-Cagayan’s campaign explains. By having young creatives collaborate with ARBs, the festival fosters empathy, historical awareness, and even calls students to become future champions of rural development.

In Cagayan Valley, representatives from DAR and local universities have teamed up to mentor entries and urged filmmakers to dig deep into ARB communities for authentic, powerful stories.

On the Road to National Finals. PelikulAgraryo 2025 kicked off its call for entries in February. Regional judging will took place on June 11, 2025 - the Awarding will be on June 28, 2025 and the best films will move forward to the national finals under the theme “Pag‑ani sa mga Pangarap: Mga Kwento ng Pag‑asa at Tagumpay sa Agraryo” (“Harvest of Dreams: Stories of Agrarian Hope and Success”).

Judges are looking for originality, strong storytelling, technical skill and most importantly, narratives that humanize land reform, going beyond policies and statistics.

The economic impact of Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) in the Philippines

The economic impact of Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) in the Philippines has been extensively studied, revealing a complex picture of both benefits and challenges. Below is a synthesis of empirical findings from various studies:

📈 Positive Economic Outcomes

1. Poverty Reduction and Income Gains

 Between 1990 and 2010, poverty incidence in ARC barangays declined by 28.3 percentage points, a slightly greater reduction than in non-ARC barangays. This suggests that ARCs contributed to faster poverty alleviation in rural areas. -ResearchGate

 A 2002 study by Celia Reyes found that agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) experienced higher real per capita incomes and reduced poverty incidence between 1990 and 2000 compared to non-ARBs. -PIDS

2. Increased Agricultural Productivity

The Agrarian Reform Communities Development Project (ARCDP2) reported significant increases in crop yields post-implementation. For instance, hybrid rice yields increased by 30%, and traditional corn yields rose by 131%. -FFTC Agriculture Platform

3. Enhanced Access to Services

ARBs residing in ARCs had better access to basic services such as potable water and sanitary toilets, and higher ownership of household assets compared to non-ARBs. -FAOHome

Challenges and Criticisms

1. Decline in Farm Productivity

A study by Adamopoulos and Restuccia (2014) found that agricultural productivity under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) fell by 17%, alongside a 34% reduction in average farm size. -AmericanEconomic Association

2. Persistence of Rural Poverty

Despite land redistribution, a 2014 paper by Raul Fabella noted that poverty incidence among ARBs in ARCs stood at 54% in 2011, higher than the national average for farmers. This led to the characterization of ARBs as the "landed poor." -UP School of Economics

 3. Implementation Issues

 Critics argue that restrictions on land markets and the fragmentation of landholdings have hindered the potential economic benefits of agrarian reform.

While Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) have led to notable improvements in poverty reduction, agricultural productivity, and access to services for beneficiaries, challenges such as declining farm sizes, reduced overall productivity, and persistent poverty among ARBs highlight the need for policy adjustments. Addressing land market restrictions and providing sustained support services are crucial for enhancing the economic impact of agrarian reform in the Philippines.

Key policy adjustments made after 2010 in the Philippines aimed at improving the incomes of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs):

✅1. Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) Program.

*Year Implemented: 2011

*Lead Agency: Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)

Objective: Enhance productivity and income of ARBs by supporting ARB organizations (ARBOs) through: Enterprise development, Common Service Facilities (CSFs) like tractors and post-harvest equipment and Business development services and training. 

Impact: Helped ARBs transition from subsistence to commercial farming in many ARCs by integrating them into value chains and improving productivity.

✅ 2. Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP). 

*Year Implemented: 2012

*Lead Agencies: DAR, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Department of Agriculture (DA)

*Objective: Provide accessible and affordable credit to ARBs for production inputs and agri-enterprises.

*Loan features: Low interest, no collateral for accredited ARBO members

*Impact: Bridged financing gaps for ARBs who previously relied on informal, high-interest sources.

✅ 3. Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP)

 *Year Implemented: 2014(pilot); expanded thereafter

*Lead Agencies: DAR, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), DA

*Objective: Link ARBs and ARBOs to institutional buyers (e.g., feeding programs, schools) to ensure markets for their produce.

*Impact: Provided consistent income sources and market assurance for many farmer groups.

✅ 4. Split Project (Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling)

*Year Implemented: 2020 (funded by the World Bank)

*Lead Agency: DAR

*Objective: Fast-track the parcelization of collective Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) into individual titles.

*Rationale: Individual titles give ARBs greater security, enabling access to loans, land-based investments, and formal markets.

*Target: 1.3 million hectares to be titled to 1.1 million ARBs by 2024.

*Impact: Aims to improve land tenure security and farmer confidence in long-term investment.

✅5. Executive Order No. 75, Series of 2019

 *Issued By: President Rodrigo Duterte

 *Purpose: Mandates the distribution of government-owned lands suitable for agriculture to qualified beneficiaries.

*Scope: Accelerated land distribution through administrative means, expanding the land reform coverage without judicial delays.

✅ 6. Republic Act No. 11953 or the “New Agrarian Emancipation Act”

*Signed Into Law: July 2023

*Key Provision: Condones ₱57.6 billion in unpaid debts of over 600,000 ARBs

 *Goal: Free ARBs from amortization burdens and encourage reinvestment in agriculture.

*Impact: Expected to boost income by removing financial constraints tied to land repayment obligations.

In general, the ARC strategy has had a positive impact on poverty reduction, such as: (1) Faster Poverty Reduction in ARC Areas. A study by Ballesteros and dela Cruz (2016) from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) showed that poverty incidence declined faster in ARC barangays compared to non-ARC areas between 1990 and 2010. Poverty incidence dropped by 28.3 percentage points in ARC areas, slightly outperforming non-ARC barangays. This suggests that the integrated approach of providing land and support services (infrastructure, credit, training) had measurable effects on household welfare; and (2)  Improved Income and Welfare Indicators. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) reported that ARBs in ARC areas generally had higher incomes, more assets, and better access to services (e.g., potable water, electricity, schools). World Bank evaluations (such as of ARCDP1 and ARCDP2) found that ARC strategies helped transition subsistence farmers to market-oriented production, boosting incomes and reducing vulnerability.

📌 Conclusion

The ARC strategy has contributed to poverty reduction among farmers by integrating land reform with support services and infrastructure development. However, its effectiveness depends heavily on sustained government support, cooperative development, and access to markets. In well-functioning ARCs, poverty reduction has been substantial; in weaker or poorly supported areas, gains were limited.

 

P17B insurance protection for ARBs provided by DAR and PCIC

Quezon City, Philippines, September 17, 2022 - The insurance protection plan is contained in the joint program called the “Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries-Agricultural Insurance Program (ARB-AIP).” The ARB-AIP will benefit over 224,000 ARBs or members of their households who are actually cultivating around 330,000 hectares of land and engaged in raising some 30,700 farm animals, who are eligible for insurance premium subsidy.

From these ARBs, there are estimated 99,580 rice farmers tilling 178,801 hectares;  37,772 corn farmers cultivating around 72,506 hectares; and about 85,760 commercial crop farmers cultivating around 78,633 hectares. Nine hundred twenty four (924) farmers raise 30,742 animals.

Each eligible ARB shall have access to protection cover up to three hectares (maximum award per CARP beneficiary) and up to three types of insurance coverage only which is good for two cropping seasons.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), has partnered with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to provide some P17.1 billion worth of crop insurance protection to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) over the next two cropping seasons.

The insurance protection plan is the first such collaboration between two of the country’s main rural development agencies and the biggest group plan ever issued by the DA-PCIC. It aims to provide the ARBs a safety net against fortuitous events caused by climate change, also crop pests and diseases.  

Additionally, beneficiaries will be provided protection against loss of limbs or life under its Accident and Dismemberment Security Scheme. To qualify, the program beneficiaries must be participants of key DAR programs, such as the Agrarian Reform Connectivity andEconomic Support Service (ARCCESS), Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP), Credit Assistance Program for Program Beneficiaries Development (CAP-PBD) and Microfinance Capacity Development in Agrarian Reform Areas. DAR will identify the eligible beneficiaries.

DAR will put up the premium subsidy worth P1B from the DAR-GPS for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries. Of the amount, P533.78M will be allocated for rice farmers, P385.82, corn farmers, P79.09M for high value crop farmers, P1.31M for livestock. The premium cost for the individual farmer’s life and limb coverage amounting to P5.43M would come from interest income of the DAR-Government Premium Subsidy (DAR-GPS) Fund.

For its part, DA-PCIC will provide the insurance cover worth some P17.07B from which some P4.94B will be reserved for rice, P2B for corn, P2.35B for commercial crops, P13M for livestock, and some P7.77B for the individual farmer’s life and limb.

In cases where the insured risks happens, the DA-PCIC will pay out damage claims from these beneficiaries within 20 days, less than the 60-day reglementary period. This is made possible by the ISO-certified systems and processes established by the DA-PCIC.

Depending on the extent of damage and the cost of farm investment, the farmers may receive payments for damages worth P39,000 to P52,000 per hectare for inbred and hybrid rice, respectively;  P28,000 and P40,000 for every hectare of open-pollinated and hybrid corn, respectively;  and  up to P50,000 for life and limb. These are various indemnity figures for commercial crops and animals as there are many types of crops and animals involved.

Link: DAR-PCIC orientation (on Facebook page)

DAR Cagayan Valley 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

DAR allots P300-M to aid farmers during COVID19 pandemic

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has allotted PHP300 million to finance its ongoing project "The PaSSOver: ARBOld Move to Heal as One Deliverance of our ARBs from the Covid-19 Pandemic,” a project in response to the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Republic Act 11469, where the President Rodrigo Duterte directed all government agencies to provide, protect and promote the welfare of the people amid the COVID19 health crisis. Throughout the nation, there are thousands of CARP farmer-beneficiaries adversely affected by the COVID19 pandemic.

     Admittedly, the biggest and most important sector in the country affected by this crisis is the food service industry, the Philippines being a nation with a thriving agricultural backbone, the lockouts throughout Luzon (which later on expanded to some major provinces in Visayas and Mindanao) caused farmers and agricultural workers suddenly unable to produce, tend their farms, and market their products. It also resulted to laborers losing job opportunities resulting to massive loss of income.

     As the public were forced by the crisis to stay in their homes to protect themselves and their families, the local economy ground to a halt but expenses continue to pile up. Business establishments remain closed and some may never open up again. All of a sudden, the agri sector is experiencing the largest loss of income in human history due to the deadly and highly contagious COVID19 pandemic, putting a sudden stop to physical interactions and almost none on business transactions.

     According to DAR Secretary JohnR. Castriciones, the budget for the project will be taken from the realigned budget of the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Sustainability Program (ARBDSP) and unobligated allotment from the different units of the DAR Support Services Office (SSO). The project aims to give essential support to ARBs for them to be able to perform their roles in ensuring food sufficiency in the country.

     The project intends to provide immediate and essential support services to men and women agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) to mitigate the impact of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) measures due to the pandemic and to address the demands affecting the agricultural sector even after the ECQ has been lifted or upon the start of the “new normal.”

The PaSSOver: ARBOld Move project will provide enable the ARBs, individually and collectively, to continue performing their roles as frontliners in ensuring food sufficiency for the nation. DAR is assisting the farmers in the distribution and delivery of agri products by issuing quarantine passes so they could pass through checkpoints in critical areas under ECQ.

     The Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) will also be provided with farm inputs such as seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, and farm tools to enable them to resume planting crops for continuous food supply. It will cover 7,000 hectares nationwide with 90,839 individual ARBs to benefit from the project. ARB identification cards (ARB IDs) are also being issued and distributed under the PaSSOver: ARBOld Move project. The ID cards are being given to identify ARBs and facilitate their access to the government's social amelioration programs (SAPs). As of April 24, a total of 77,119 ARB IDs have been distributed by the DAR.

     The project will also extend its support to 1,200 women ARBs nationwide by providing them with livelihood activities, especially in food production such as egg and poultry production, hog fattening, and similar activities based on their preferences and capabilities to ensure they have food on their tables and products to sell.

    According to DAR SSO Undersecretary Atty. Emily Padilla, “the project will also provide packages containing supplemental food, hygiene products and vitamins to ARB households. Each package will contain 4 kilos of rice, 4 canned sardines, 4 packs instant noodles, 2 pieces bath soap, 10 pieces face masks and a bottle of 50 pieces vitamin C. A total of 126,565 qualified ARBs will benefit from these packages. “Helping our ARBs will ensure that their agricultural production, livelihood and income will continue during this health crisis. It will also ensure sustained supply of adequate, affordable and safe food necessary for Filipino consumers even upon the 'new normal' will be implemented,"

     Meantime, in Cagayan province, the DAR Provincial Office personnel are presently going around different municipalities distributing initially the relief packs for agrarian reform farmer-beneficiaries, to be followed immediately with the distribution of farm inputs and livelihood kits, to help farmers get on and move on to the new normal. (Photos by: Mimi Atal-Mora)
CLICK PHOTOs to view: 

DAR to provide low-cost housing for farmer-beneficiaries

QUEZON CITY—As the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), it also disclosed its latest package of assistance for agrarian reform beneficiaries, that is, the provision of affordable housing for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as part of its support services under CARP.

ARB housing program for the CARP farmer-beneficiaries.

Model unit located at the Nueva Vizcaya State University. 

According to DAR Secretary  John Castriciones, the farmers’ and farmworkers’ housing program shall be part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s order for a “rebirth” of land reform in the country, as he directed the DAR to launch what he described as a second phase of the program. Under the second phase of agrarian reform, the ARBs housing program shall be one of the major programs that would greatly improve the living condition of agrarian reform beneficiaries citing that most of the farmers and farmworkers do not own houses of their own. He further said that the ARB housing program is one of the means to achieve inclusive growth and improve the lives of ARBs and their families.

A model design located at the DAR Central Office in Quezon City. 

The ARB housing program shall be implemented through the convergence program of several government agencies and the private sector such as the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council’s (HUDCC) Balay Filipino Program, National Housing Authority (NHA), Pag-IBIG Fund, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC), Home Guarantee Corp. (HGC) and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC).  These agencies will extend their respective programs, activities, and expertise in assisting and tapping subdivision developers in the housing industry to join the DAR’s ARB housing program.

The ARBs may use their emancipation patent, certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) and other titles issued to them as security. Housing loans for house construction or improvement in lands covered by CLOA will be treated as additional loans by Land Bank and other lending institutions.  The maximum term of housing loan will be at 30 years.

At present there are two model houses with different designs. One is located at DAR Central Office in Diliman, Quezon City and the other is located at the Nueva Vizcaya State University. The housing units are the duplex type with two bedrooms each, covering 37 square meters. Other model houses will also be put up in the Visayas and Mindanao where interested ARBs can view these units.

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