AGRARIAN REFORM Agrarian Reform programs involve the realignment of land relationships to meet the interest of the government and the dominant class in.

AGRARIAN REFORM

• Agrarian Reform programs involve the realignment of land relationships to meet the interest of the government and the dominant class in the society.

• It is the drastic , planned public intervention aimed at bringing about a new structure of access to land that is more adequate to the requirements of the socio economic and political system.

Agrarian Reform vs. Land Reform

• Agrarian reform invariably involves the restructuring of land relationships, hence, it is also referred to as land reform.

• On the contrary, Ben Cousins (2007) believes that Land Reform is concerned with rights in land, and their character, strength and distribution, while..

• Agrarian reform focuses not only on these but on broader sets of issues, it is concerned more with economic and political power and the relations between them

ECONOMIC BASIS FOR AGRARIAN REFORM

• EQUITY ASPECTagrarian reform is needed to achieve a more equal

distribution of income.

• EFFICIENCY– There is inverse relationship between farm size and

yield, –Productivity is higher on small farms than on larger

farms

HISTORY OF AGRARIANREFORM

• ENCOMIENDA SYSTEM (similar to the Feudal System of medieval Europe) – Conquistadores and friars acted as caretaker of

the Royal crown over the subjugated local inhabitants

– These trustees were granted encomiendas or estates and had the obligation to look into the welfare of the inhabitants

– in return they can collect tributes from the indios,– numerous abuses by the conquistadores and friars

led to uprisings and it became the rallying point of Philippine revolution of 1898.

• Philippine Bill of 1902– US Congress set a limit of 16 hectares of Philippine

public land to be sold or leased to individuals and 1,024 hectare to corporations.

• Kasama (sharecropper) system of 1924– Cultivators were deep in debt for they were

dependent on advances made by the landowner or inquilino and had to pay high interest rate. Principsal and interest accumulated rapidly

– It was estimated that an average tenant family needed 163 years to pay off debts and acquire the title of the land

– It created a class of peons or surfs, children inherited the debts of their fathers and over the generations

– No contracts, unwritten agreements only and landowners would change conditions to their own advantage

– Successive governments were compelled to adopt progressive measures to deal with the mounting unrest in the rural areas.

Philippine Agrarian Law and Pertinent Provisions

Agrarian law • Philippine Bill of 1902

• Land Registration Act of 1902

• Public Land Act of 1903

Pertinent provisions • Sets the ceiling on the

hectarage that individuals and corporations may acquire .

• Provided for a comprehensive registration of land titles

• Introduced the homestead system in the Philippines

• Commonwealth Act No. 4054 (Rice Share Tenancy Act of 1933)

• Commonwealth Act No. 4113 of 1934

• Commonwealth Act No. 178 ( An Amendment to the Rice Tenancy Act)

• Regulated relationships between landowners and tenants of rice (50-50 sharing)

• Regulated relationships between landowners and tenants of sugarcane lands

• Provided for certain controls in the landlord tenant relationship

• Commonwealth Act No. 461 of 1937

• Republic Act No. 34 of 1946

• Republic Act No. 55 of 1946

• Specified the reasons for the dismissal of tenants and only with the approval of the Tenancy Division of the Department of Justice.

• Established the 70-30 sharing arrangement

• Provided for a more effective safeguard against arbitrary ejectment of tenants

• Republic Act No. 821 of 1952

• RA No. 1199 Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954

• Created the Agricultural Credit Cooperative Financing Administration , provided farmers 6-8% interest rate on loans.

• Governed the relationship between landowners and tenants by organizing the share tenancy and leasehold systems

• RA No. 1400 Land reform Act of 1955

• RA No. 3844 Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963

• Created the land Tenure Administration , it distributed 200 ha. for individuals and 600 ha for corporations .

• Abolished the share tenancy, institutionalized leasehold set retention limit at 75 ha

• RA No. 6389 Code of Agrarian Reform of 1971

• RA No. 6390 of 1971

• Amended RA No. 3844, compensated the agri lessees equal to 5 times the average gross annual harvest in 5 years.

• Created the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Agrarian Reform Special Account Fund

• Presidential Decree No. 2 of 1972

• PD No. 27 of 1972

• RA No. 6657 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988

• Declared the country under the land reform program

• Restricted the land reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands and set the retention limit at 7 ha.

• Instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform program, the current legal framework of CARP

• RA No. 7881 of 1995

• RA No. 8435 Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997

• RA No. 8532 Agrarian Reform Fund Bill

• Exempted fishponds and prawns from CARP

• Plugged the legal loopholes in land use conversion

• Provided for additional 50 billion pesos for CARP and extended its implementation for another 10 years