The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Northern Luzon said 114,000 hectares of private and public agricultural land will be distributed in the next five years to landless farmers if the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is extended this year.

Farmers have expressed fear that the gains of the 20-year-old program, which have helped alleviate poverty in the region, may not be sustained if the program will not be extended. 

The DAR in Northern Luzon has so far distributed 544,265 hectares of lands since the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in 1988.

The remaining balance, according to DAR officials in the region, will be divided and distributed, spread out in the next five years according to availability of fund. 

Northern Luzon consists of Regions 1 and 2 and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

During the Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development convened by the Northern Luzon Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, provincial agrarian reform officer Christianne Suguitan said some P5 billion-worth of infrastructure projects were already implemented in the regions.

“These projects were farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigations, potable water system and post-harvest facilities,” she added.

Echoing the farmers’ common sentiment, Nueva Vizcaya Bishop Ramon Villena, also warned the government that CARP’s gains may not be sustained if the program will not be extended.

“Land distribution is expected to end by virtue of the law this year. We convene a solidarity gathering to appeal to the local lawmakers to support the immediate legislation of the extension of the CARP,” he said.

“The CBCP believes that the CARP, though imperfect, is still the most viable strategy to spur economic growth in the countryside because the country’s economy is anchored on agriculture,” he added.

DAR Undersecretary Gerundio Madueño, meanwhile, said the CARP’s 2009 budget was approved at the committee level despite its pending extension.

“Obviously, most of our legislators still believe on the positive impact of the program to the farmers.  The approval of the extension is just a matter of perfecting the CARP,” he said.

In a related development, northern bloc representatives like Apayao’s Elias Bulut Jr., Ilocos Sur’s Eric Singson and Baguio City’s Mauricio Domogan extended their support to the program.

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DAR to distribute 114,000 has. in North Luzon in next 5 years

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Northern Luzon said 114,000 hectares of private and public agricultural land will be distributed in the next five years to landless farmers if the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is extended this year.

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