LANDOWNERS have requested the conversion of about 47 hectares of agricultural land in Central Visayas to other uses, primarily the residential use, data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 revealed.
A consolidated report from January 2012 to October 2015, which Sun.Star Cebu received last Friday, showed that 20 applicants requested for land use reclassification, from agriculture, based on the Comprehensive Land Use Program (CLUP) of the local government units, to residential, commercial, and industrial uses.
However, only two applications, covering approximately six hectares, were so far granted a conversion order from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). The agency decides on whether or not a piece of agricultural land can be converted to other uses, said DA 7 Assistant Land Use Conversion Officer Euperio B. Vicoy.
According to him, lands that have irrigation commitments with the National Irrigation Authority are not allowed for conversion.
Less land for food
Agriculture in the region remains the lowest-performing sector versus industry and services, the main drivers of the Central Visayan economy.
The construction boom, especially in Cebu, entails some sacrifices in the agriculture sector since some lands have to be utilized for other purposes, instead of food production, said DA 7 Technical Director Joel Elumba.
“As more requests to convert agricultural lands to other use (come in), we know that there would be less production area which would translate to less production as well,” Elumba said in an interview.
The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), in a report, said that the contribution of agriculture to the Philippine economy dropped from a third in 1946 to only a tenth in 2013.
The agri-fishery sector in the region recovered in the first three quarters of 2015, according to National Economic and Development Authority 7 Director Efren Carreon.
However, this is only limited to the livestock and poultry sub-sectors, which grew at 3.4 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively.
Crops and fisheries sub-sector declined by 7.6 percent and 2.4 percent in the first three quarters of 2015 versus the same period of 2014.