AGRARIAN REFORM

INTRODUCTION

REFORM – implies the existence of a DEFECT that something is deformed or malformed and does not suit existing conditions

LAND REFORM – refers to a FULL RANGE of measures that may be taken to improve or remedy that defects in the relations among men with respect to their rights in land

It is also defined as an INTEGRATED set of measures designed to eliminate obstacles to economic and social development arising out of defects in the agrarian structure.

AGRARIAN REFORM

It is considered WIDER than land reform. It does not focus on land reform alone but also reform and

development of complementary institutional framework such as administrative agencies of national

government, rural, educational and social welfare institutions, cooperatives and not simply to the question

of the relationships of the farmers to the land.

It encompasses ALL PROGRAMS designed to bring about improvement in all the institutions surrounding farm life as

well as companion measures necessary to make the work of the tenant, farm-worker and owner-cultivator successful.

It means REMEDYING not only the defect in the DISTRIBUTION and USE of land but also the

accompanying HUMAN RELATIONS regarding land including economic, social and political relations.

It is concerned not only with the farmer and the land he tills but also with the community he lives in.

Example of Agrarian Reform Measures

1. Public health programs2. Application of labor laws to agricultural workers3. Reorganization of agrarian reform agencies4. Construction of infrastructure facilities like irrigation

systems5. Organization of various types of voluntary

associations6. Providing employment opportunities to

underemployed or surplus rural labor7. Other services of a community development nature

Aspects of Agrarian Reform

1.ECONOMIC ASPECT

a. Vital position of agriculture in national economy

b. Agrarian reform is an instrument for increasing agricultural productivity

2. SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT

a. Agrarian reform is a multifaceted program, it could be political, economic or social depending upon the nature and the immensity of the problems posed and ideological orientations with which these problems are concerned.

b. Tenancy problem has its roots in pre-Spanish and Spanish pasts

3. RELIGIOUS ASPECT

a. God is the owner of the earth and that he made it all for his children.

b. Food was not made for a few, all possess the God-given right to use and enjoy the fruits of the earth for the advancement of their lives.

4. MORAL ASPECT

a. Land owner has been more than compensated for his investment on land while tenant who made the landlord’s profits possible is still immersed in poverty

b. Without good division of land, there will be no peace among the people.

5. LEGAL ASPECT

a. Law is utilized as an instrument to achieve socio-economic political goals

b. Agrarian reform legislations are labor law.

6. POLITICAL ASPECT

a. Agrarian reform is a top-priority goal of government

b. Agrarian reform is a political process, a product of deliberate political decisions.

Ways of Effecting Changes in Agrarian Structure

1. REVOLUTIONARY SITUATIONAccomplished as a result of a shift of political,

economic and administrative power to a class which would benefit directly by the reforms.

2. AUTHORITARIAN REGIMEPolicy decisions on land reform are enforced by

suspension of normal legal processes if necessary.3. DEMOCRATIC FRAMEWORK

Diffusion of political power makes it difficult to overcome the opposition of vested interests or reorganize of change existing institutions which impede reform.

Requirements for Successful Implementation of Agrarian Reform

1. It is necessary that any organization for its implementation should provide for a line of command from the center to field levels in order to insure that policy is enforced and supported at all levels.

2. Beneficiaries must be provided with necessary supporting services

3. Administrative organization and procedures as well as the judicial system by which the newly conferred rights are to be enforced are refashioned

4. Involvement of beneficiaries in the implementing program

NECESSITY of AGRARIAN REFORM in the Philippines

1. Philippines has some of the most fertile lands in the world yet agricultural production is one of the lowest and the small farmers who constitute the bulk of our population are among the most impoverished.

Land reform would increase their production, set them free from poverty and debt and make them dignified participants in nation building.

2. Agrarian reform would liberate the capital for investment in new industries. It would increase production and provide employment to our expanding population and raise standard of living.

3. Agrarian reform will correct the imbalance in our society where there are enormous concentrations of land, wealth and political power in the hands of a few.

4. Land reform program will make democracy truly meaningful to our people

Components of Agrarian Reform

1. Land Distribution

This is the meat of agrarian reform – to make the tillers of the land owners of the land they are tilling and to insure their right to just share in the fruits of their labor.

2. Companion Measures

It is not enough that the tillers become the owners of the land they till. They must also become successful owners of the land.

Companion Measure to Land Distribution

1. CREDIT

When farmer becomes owner of the land he tills, he has to shoulder the whole capitalization of his farming operations, he has to provide for seeds, transplanting, fertilizers, his family’s subsistence till crop is harvested. Agrarian reforms seek to liberate the farmer from the bondage of usurious interests or landlord domination if the farmer would borrow money from his landlord.

2. MODERN AND BETTER METHODS OF PRODCUTION

There is a need to improved soil fertility, government help is needed but government efforts in technological matters will not succeed without farmer cooperation

3. MARKETING FACILITIES, EQUITABLE PRICING and INFRASTRUCTURE

Provision for marketing facilities and equitable price for farmer’s produce and accompanying infrastructure requirements needed to transport the produce from the barrio to the town or city.

4. COOPERATIVES

Necessity for cooperatives and other forms of social organization is an effective channel for agricultural planning that will ensure food sufficiency in terms of adequate supply and proper distribution. Cooperatives can serve as vehicle for information and effective moulding of a responsive public opinion.

DIFFERENT ROLES

1. FARMER

He is both the ultimate object and principal agent of agrarian reform. He will buy and apply fertilizer, pull out weeds, fix and pay for the loans. It is the farmer who will assume responsibility for the ultimate success of the program. He must be informed, educated, motivated and organized thru self-help and self-discovery.

2. LANDOWNER/LANDLORD

Landlords are not dispossessed individuals with their lands because they are paid the value of their lands transferred to their tenants and they are given all opportunities to invest in industries and other business ventures.