THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental-North has distributed certificates of land ownership award (Cloas) to 62 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Toboso town recently.

The 16.1-hectare property was formerly owned by Lydia Lizares. It is located at Barangay San Isidro in the northern Negros Occidental locality.

Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Heide Pasiosane, who led the activity, urged farmer-beneficiaries to continue to cultivate the land that they now own.

“Always remember to pay your taxes regularly and protect your property by refraining from involving in illegal activities,” she told them.

Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp), public and private agricultural landholdings are acquired by the government to be distributed to tenants, farmers, farmworkers and other tillers who are qualified to become ARBs.

This is in the form of Cloas covering one contiguous tract or several parcels of land accumulated up to a maximum of three hectares per ARB.

The DAR is the lead government agency that holds and implements comprehensive and genuine agrarian reform which actualizes equitable land distribution, ownership, agricultural productivity, and tenurial security for the tillers of the land towards the improvement of their quality of life.

The agency assured that minimum health protocols were observed during the activity. (With PR)