THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced on Wednesday it has released P2.32 billion purportedly for the “speedy implementation of the agrarian-reform program to the remaining farmer-beneficiaries.”
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the amount is the partial release for the Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD) released to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). He said beneficiaries of the funds include rural women with P4.3 million, as well as P4.3 million for landowners.
Of the allocation, the DBM will allocate the remaining P2.31 billion to agrarian-reform beneficiaries (ARBs), according to Abad.
He added the PBD aims to support ARBs “in making their lands more productive; helping them create income-generating livelihood projects; and teaching them community governance.” “Filipino farmers who’ve been granted land under the agrarian-reform program will gain much from this fund release to the DAR. Through the PBD, the beneficiaries can make their farms more productive and bring their produce quickly to the market, among others,” said Abad.
The funds will help farmers increase their crop yields and help them organize themselves for better earnings. He added the PBD will also help women in the agricultural work force become microentrepreneurs as part of the DAR’s push for gender equality under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
“The DAR’s continuing support to agrarian beneficiaries is an important part of the agency’s mandate to achieve agrarian reform. At the same time, we want to ensure that the government’s efforts to develop the rural areas will give our farmers a sustainable future,” Abad said.
The Aquino administration, through the DAR, has distributed a total of 6.9 million hectares of land, or 751,514 hectares.