Thursday, April 03, 2008 NGOs: Reclassified agri land should be given to farmers
TWO non-government organizations (NGOs) are pushing government to immediately cover reclassified agricultural lands and distribute these to farmers for cultivation in efforts to avert an impending rice crisis.
This was the gist of a forum-workshop titled "DOJ Opinion 44; Are Exemptions Still Valid?" held at the Lispher Inn Wednesday by two NGOs - Kaisahan, Inc. and Siad in Mindanao Convergence for Asset Reform and Regional Development (Simcarrd).
"Land conversion and exemptions have derailed implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp)," Jane Capacio, executive director of Kaisahan said.
Based on existing data, more than 200,000 hectares of prime private agricultural lands have been exempted from coverage starting in 1990 under a Department of Justice (DOJ) Opinion No. 44 that declared lands reclassified as non-agricultural prior to June 15, 1988 are not covered for coverage under Carp. In Southern Mindanao alone, some 20,000 hectares have been exempted due to DOJ Opinion 44, like the Lapanday and Christensen plantations in Davao del Sur.
"Most of these exemptions are policies initiated by the executive branch that later on were supported by judicial fiat," Tom Villarin, executive director of Simcarrd said.
"By declaring it a national policy to cover all agricultural lands whether private or public regardless of tenure arrangements, government easily have production areas for rice and corn," he added.
The forum also had Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel of Akbayan party-list who is a primary sponsor of HB 1257 (and a counterpart Senate Bill 2047) extending Carp with reforms.
Under the present law, the program is supposed to end by June 2008 with no additional funding support.
Hontiveros is supporting the position of NGOs that Carp is highly relevant 20 years after its passage, as this directly addresses increasing poverty incidence due to landlessness and decreasing productivity. (GLP)
