Agricultural Land As a Wealth-generating Asset for Farmers

Land is the most important source in food production. It is the most efficient wealth-generating asset for farmers. However, due to the economic progress, the agricultural sector is facing danger in many ways. One of the main reasons was the conversion of agricultural land in non-agricultural land uses like commercial, industrial and residential areas. This causes the agricultural land to decrease and threatens the food supply. The conversion of land to non-agricultural land is one of the most irreversible anthropological impacts in global biosphere. It drives the loss of farmland, affects local climate, destroy habitats, and threatens biodiversity.

In Philippines about 50,000 hectares of agricultural lands are illegally converted into industrial and residential companies annually. According to the Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, you need to wait for the three year reglementary period required by law to lapse before applying for conversion. Since the local Government unit have the authority to reclassify land within their political boundaries, some investors used with the LGU and proceed to the conversion without getting clearance from the committee that handles land conversion. (Simeon, 2018)

The 9.7 million of roughly 30 million hectare of land are considered agricultural.

According to DAR, when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reperm Law (CARL) took effect between 1988 and 2016, there is a total of 97,592.5 hectares of agricultural land—the size of Metro Manila and Cebu City were permitted for conversion to nonagricultural purposes. Pending applications for conversion, agricultural land reclassified by local government units and illegally converted land are not included in the figure. It has led to conflicting land uses the extensive conversion of prime agricultural land, partly driven by rapid urbanization, population growth, and speculation. Over the past 28 years of the approved conversion applications in DAR regional offices, in Luzon there is 80.6 percent of the land with the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (Calabarzon) that lie on the borders of Metro Manila, taking up more than a quarter of the total. While Visayas accounted for 7.8 percent and Mindanao, 11.6 percent. DAR regional offices approved a total of 40,308.8 ha while the national office approved 57,283.7 ha. In regional offices, they handle conversion applications involving 5 ha and below, while the national office handles applications concerning more than 5 ha. Calabarzon and Central Luzon produce big volumes of palay and other crops, lending credence to fears that conversion of prime agricultural lands could undermine food security (Jinky Cabildo, Krixia Subingsubing, Matthew Reysio-Cruz, 2017)

I am interested with the topic because I’m one of the families of farmers and we are not in favor in land conversion. Here in Bataan, many agricultural lands are now converted in residential area and industrial use. The farm near our residential address “Balsik, Hermosa, Bataan” has also converted into industrial use, a metal factory/plant that will soon be established. In addition, the big portion of the agricultural land in front of National Grid Power Corporation that was previously used in rice and corn farming was also converted to use for the expansion of power plant. Many crops had been destroyed during the process. Land conversion abuses agricultural land. If it can’t stop and continue the same, sooner or later there will be no agricultural land left for the youth. We, my family, experienced this when the golf course near our farm wants an expansion, but the land owners/farmers refuse to sell their farm/agricultural land. It caught my interest because I want to know how climate contribute in the land conversion and what will happen in the food production, how the population affect the conversion, and its impact in the economy. Lastly, how the government will implement a law to stop illegal conversion of agricultural land.

II. Discussion

The Philippines is an agricultural country. It is made up of 4 sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry. Our main agricultural crops are rice, corn coconut, sugarcane, bananas, pineapple, coffee, mangoes tobacco, and abaca. We exported these agricultural products around the world but the rampant conversion of the agricultural land is a threat to our food industry. Listed below are some of the factors that lead to land conversion.

Climate and production cost

Climate is one of the important to consider in agricultural products but because of climate change El Niño and La Niña, it will be harder. Rice farmers are suffering because of the rise of the temperature as they lost sacks of rice per harvest. Farmers also lost huge amount of their crops during rainy season as heavy rains also results in flooding and massive erosion to their farmlands. This is one of the reasons why the farmers either sell or pawned their land for them to survive (Cortez, 2019). If the temperature rise, the need of water pump irrigation is higher. It means additional expenses of production cost. While during heavy rains the crops may decrease or worst, damage because not all the farmers have the capital to start a new, some are just borrowing money in a lending company.

Tony Salubre of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in Southern Mindanao stated that losing the farmers and their farmland would reflect on poor government assistance for the farmers to survive. (Cortez, 2019). The Philippines have a high demand of food consumption because of its growing population. The farmers suffer the most because the fertilizers, pesticides, and oil that they use have a higher cost. Then when harvesting time, especially during rainy season, the buyer buys rice (palay) at the amount of 14php only. The farmers have no choice but to sell their product. Their earnings are just enough to pay for their debt and then borrow again.

This is one of the saddest realities, the farmers’ plant crops to sustain the food supply yet they are the one who suffers the most. The government has no support for the sustainable agriculture in our country. Instead, they are busy in investments and converting non agriculture land “economic growth”. The farmers have no choice but to sell their land and will think of a new business with the money or apply in the industrial businesses to have a better income. If the conversion of agricultural land continues the food production will be affected in the future, it will decrease. Food shortage will become a problem and importation of agricultural product will start.

As a solution to keep the farming industry, Noel Provido, the communications chief of the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11) said the government has made interventions. One of this is the allocation of the huge amount of budget to push farm mechanization to attract the new generations of farmer. The DA sees these as a way of lowering the cost of production of rice and corn and the means of keeping younger farmers in the workplace. (Cortez, 2019). If all the DA officials implement this, then younger generations will see farming as a source of income. Giving seed of rice is also a good solution, like what is happening in our community, although not all the farmers have the privileges.

If the government’s infrastructure focus on program that prioritize the needs of the agricultural sector like building dams to ensure water reliability, expanding the irrigation networks, constructing more roads from farms to the market, windmills for power supply, and strengthening research and development in seeds and farming technologies (Gamboa, 2018). The government should give focus to the agricultural since they are the one who are producing our food. It will also a great help if they will reduce the cost of materials in the agriculture. And also, a training program for farmers on how to improve their crop production.

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Population growth and urbanization

Urbanization is the most irreversible and human-dominated form of land use on the field of anthropogenic activities. It results changes in land-cover hydrological systems, biogeochemistry, climate, and biodiversity. Urban expansion is one of the primary drivers of habitat loss, and species extinction worldwide. It is taking place on prime agricultural land in many developing countries like the Philippines. Housing development is also a major threat because of the increasing population rate, there is a need of expansion.

According to Agrarian Undersecretary Luis Pañgulayan, the major drivers of land conversion are the rapid urbanization and population growth. Because of the necessity for housing and employment as well as the need to offshoot economic growth and investments, these have led the state to accept massive conversion of agricultural lands into other uses outside Metro Manila. The rapid urbanization across the country could pose major challenges to land management and economic growth if not properly address. (Jinky Cabildo, Krixia Subingsubing, Matthew Reysio-Cruz, 2017)

The population of our country is growing every day. This means the need of residential and/or housing increases. One of the reasons why the investors buy a farm land was because they see it as a good investment. They will start building houses and convert it into subdivision, a residential area. They just have to wait for three years so the land can be converted into industrial or residential use. In order to attain economic progress, they build industrial, commercial, tourism, and transportation infrastructure. These will result of increase in job opportunities and contribute in the country’s gross domestic productivity.

One example of this is the development of the land to a state-initiated New Clark City (NCC) – said to be the Philippines’ first smart and green metropolis. When they start the development, a productive rice field was abruptly flattened to make way for concrete roads in Sitio Kamatis, Tarlac. The rice crops that is nearly ripe for harvest was paddies when the backhoe came. Nearly hectares of palay were wasted because of this. Then they just pay 300,000php for the land but the lost crops would have equivalent to 150 cavans. The land will become a part of the Capas-SCTex highway link to the metropolis. The saddest part about this was the farmers and tribespeople living there were in the development area are still ignorant of the project’s extent even as bulldozers have leveled their crops, according to a research led by the University of Glasgow (UG) in the United Kingdom and the University of the Philippines. (Krixia Subingsubing, Mariejo S. Ramos, 2019). Not all the farmer or land owner want to sell their land but left with no choice when the government want to use their land for the development, others are illiterate about the law and afraid that something might happen to them if they refuse to sell their land. Not only the government but also the investors, especially foreign investors are taking these weaknesses as an advantage.

Almost 80 percent of farms are less than three hectares in size today. Many farmers are having a difficulty in surviving with their income on their farms and have fallen deeper into debt; they will give up parts of their land to encroaching urbanization. (Gamboa, 2018). Small land owner think that it is more profitable to sell their land or part of it to the developer or investor in exchange of cash and they will use it for capital, buying fertilizers, pesticides, and use as wages for the workers who plant and harvest the crops. If there will be a government agency who lends money with a little interest on the small time farmers, then they don’t opt to sell their land for capital use.

Politics

According to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) published last December 2017, over 4.8 million hectares of private and non-private agricultural land were already given out to around 2.8 million beneficiaries. the agency has distributed 89% of the total land reform area while some 600,000 hectares more are left to be distributed. “Implement land reform now” this was written in the paper of Galbert Gamora when he marched together with his fellow farmer to hold a protest in front of DAR office. He is just one of the 1,200 farmers who have been granted with a certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) under. CARP. He want the land to give back to them as Danding Cojuangco didn’t fulfill his promise. (Rivas, 2018). Many farmers are entered an agreement with some business tycoon hoping that they will also benefitted. Others are forced to let companies rent their land for plantation use.

To ensure food security President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to enact a two-year moratorium on the conversion of 4.7 million of agricultural lands distributed under various agrarian reform programs since 1972 into subdivisions and industrial parks in a bid. He set an executive order to cover the moratorium. According to Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, the said executive order was to temporarily disallow the processing and the approval of all applications for land use conversion of agricultural lands to nonagricultural uses was being drafted and would take effect once signed by the President. This is to ensure that land intended for the country’s crops would not be sold off and turned into nonagricultural land. This order also protect the are the 4.7 million agricultural lands distributed or awarded to more than 2.7 million agrarian reform beneficiaries (Salaverria, 2016)

Last February 15 President Duterte signed an executive Order 75 that ordered all agencies to identify government-owned lands that can be distributed to land reform beneficiaries. He also said that the 1987 Constitution declared it a policy of the state to undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands subject to priorities and retention limits prescribed by Congress. Under Republic Act 6657, the government-owned lands that are devoted to or suitable for agriculture are covered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and are to be planned and programmed for acquisition and distribution by Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). He ordered DAR to obtain all government-owned lands (GOLs) that are suitable for agriculture and did not use for the purpose they have been reserved and distributed it to the qualified beneficiaries. They were given 30 days to identified and submit a copy of list of lands that can be covered by the land reform program. This will award to the farmers for free and do not need to pay for (Romero, 2019). The DAR and DOJ signed the implementing rules and regulation n(IRR) of EO No. 75 series of 2019. The IRR are the responsible for identification, transfer, and distribution of all GOLs suitable for agriculture and did not use for the purpose they have been reserved and distributed. (Cudis, 2019)T. his will be a great solution to the decreasing number of agricultural land and lower rate of agricultural production. It will also be good news to those farmers who don’t own a farmland and just renting it. In addition, it will be a great help because the money that they use for renting will add to their capital, the more their capital is the more they can be productive.

Also Senate President Ralph Recto filed a bill seeking to write off the debts of farmers under the CARP. These include the unpaid amortization, interests, penalties, and surcharges on loans will be forgiven, and “the agrarian reform beneficiaries shall be deemed rightful owners of the lands awarded to them. He also added that if the government condones debts of billionaires and big institutions all the time then why not extended the same consideration to the poor farmers. Loans of the land reform is small compared to the hundreds of billions in private sectors loans that had written off over the past 40 years. This was not only serve as social justice but it can potentially improve land reform as a whole. (Recto files bill to write off farmers' debts from CARP, 2019). Debt is one factor that the poor farmers’ facing. It is a good news for them, especially to the landless farmer whose renting land for farming.

III. Conclusion

The land conversion has a great impact not only to the local farmers but also to most of Filipino people. If these conversion will not stop, then in the near future there are no land can that can be used for agricultural purposes. The food production will be affected, there will be no land to plant crops. The same as the economy as it will stop the food exportation. The massive conversion can also contribute to the climate change and can caused calamities like extreme flooding because the natural flow of rain water going to rivers will be stop due to passageways that have been blocks due to construction of expressways and buildings. The balance in the ecosystem will be destroy as the river and bodies of water are affected too. If the government will focus only in the industrialization and economic progress, then sooner or later the agriculture will die. Industrialization and urbanization are a good idea but we shouldn’t sacrifice our natural resources like the land. We should also think of the future generations, for them to have a sustainable resource.

The government should also implement law on land conversion and review all the application before approval of such project. They are the one who plays an important role in the conversion as they are the one who will decide in the conversion of land. They should think not only the economic growth but also care about the environment and the welfare of the people who are affected in the conversion. They should think what the possible result of the land conversion are in the environment and health of the people. They should think also on how to improve the crops/agricultural products like in other countries who have invested modernized equipment. They should also implement a law protecting the rights of the landowner. I have witness a scenario were a corn rice fields where being destroy by the bulldozer and the saddest part or the most heartbreaking part was the farmers cannot stop this they cannot do anything about it. Even though they do not want to sell their land, they'll leave them no choice because it is needed for the expansion of the power plant as a simple land owner for a long period of time still they can't protect their rights because the sad reality of life is the government was not on their side to protect their rights.

As for me, I am not against in the progressive economic growth but we can be progressive without sacrificing the land and other resources. We just have to think of ways to improve the production of agriculture so that we don't have to choose or sacrifice our available resources we just have to modernize or innovate what we used to do. Change for the better.