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Normin CARP land distribution now 91% complete - DLR
by Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob

Cagayan de Oro City (27 June 2005) -- SOME 235,870 hectares of land have been distributed by the Department of Land Reform (DLR) in Northern Mindanao to 140,211 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) in the region, as of May 2005.

"This is actually 91% of the 261,289 has. that comprises the working scope of the Comprehensive Agrarian Land Reform Program in the region," Regional Director Alimoden M. Domado of DLR-10 said, during a "Mobile Talakayan sa PIA" forum held at the DLR-10 office recently as one of the activities of the CARP Month celebration.

"Mobile Talakyan sa PIA" provides a vehicle to discuss among other things the 10-point agenda of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her campaign to "Let us BEAT THE ODDS and Help the Nation To Last" and is being hosted by Area Manager Olivia T.Sudaria of the Philippine Information Agency, Region 10.

Domado said of the land distributed, 78,027 has. or 33.08% were private agricultural lands categorized under the Compulsory Acquisition (CA), Voluntary Offer To Sell (VOS) and Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT)/Direct Payment Scheme (DPS), while 157,843 has. or 66.92% were government-owned lands categorized as Settlement Areas (SA), Government Financial Institutions (GFI)-owned and those formerly declared Kilusan ng Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK) areas.

By province, the biggest bulk of the CARP area is in Bukidnon with 140,072 has. Or 53.60%, followed by Lanao del Norte with 74,236 has. or 28,41%, Misamis Oriental with 32,371 has. or 12.38%, Misamis Occidental with 12,303 has. or 4.70%, and Camiguin with 2,307 has. or 0.88%.
"We are not only concerned with the land acquisition by the farmers as mandated under the Asset Reforms Program of the Arroyo Administration. Per our new mandate, we are now focusing on the support services for the beneficiaries of our Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) because we want to help them improve their productivity by enhancing their capability to earn more," he said.

Per Executive Order No. 364 entitled "Transforming the Dept. of Agrarian Reform into the Dept. of Land Reform" signed by Pres. Arroyo on Sept. 27, 2004, the DLR is made responsible for all land reform in the country, including agrarian reform, urban land reform and ancestral domain reform.

Meanwhile, a total of 114 ARCs have been launched by DLR-10 in 385 barangays covered by 82 cities/municipalities in the region, benefiting 48,144 farmers of whom 13,352 are members of 288 different ARB organizations/cooperatives.

From a total loan of P285.12 million availed over a capital build-up of P960.9 million, a P6.5-million savings was generated by these ARBs after mobilizing resources amounting to P2.289 million for the production of major crops like corn, rice and coconuts.

Likewise, a total of 16 Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects amounting to P2.732 billion, six of which were already completed, while 10 are still on-going are undertaken in 88 ARCs of the region, benefiting 36,218 ARBs.

Specifically under the Local Credit Support Program, a total of 1,628 projects amounting to P45.454 million have been availed of by 48 ARC organizations, benefiting 5,260 ARBs.
The ARC average household income in the region now, Domado said, stands at P59,235 per year, the highest of which is in Lanao del Norte with P73,407, followed by Camiguin, P64,012, Misamis Oriental, Php58,968, Bukidnon, P55,930 and Misamis Occidental, P52,916.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, during her visit to Northern Mindanao last week, emphasized that the government's focus now is the fight against poverty. So far, the farmers' sector, which contributes a lot in this aspect, has been getting her concern and time.
"This is clearly seen when she signed EO No.364 and when she came to the region for the inaugural switching-on to start operations of the Grains and Feedstock Service Center in Valencia City on June 16, this year," Domado also remarked. (PIA-10)

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