Department of Agrarian Reform XI

Compostela Valley - The Davao Settlement No. 2 in Laak is this year's most progressive Agrarian Reform Community (ARC). The said ARC bested other contenders vying for the most prestigious award that is given annually to the ARC which exhibits a very high degree of physical transformation and social development.

According to PARO Eduardo Suaybaguio, Davao Settlement No.2 ARC deserves such recognition because of its great transformation. "People in the community are very pro-active. They are very receptive to change - an attitude unique in their community. "Suaybaguio said. From 2002 to 2008, the ARC has consistently earned a Level 5 rating in the annual ARC Level of Development Assessment (ALDA) conducted by DAR.

Mayor Reynaldo Navarro sees the establishment of Davao Settlement No.2 in 1970 as one of the contributing factors to the creation of the municipality in 1979. "Laak was once a hotbed of insurgency but when the settlement was established, development interventions poured in. Peace and order was achieved and the people in the community started to relish a better life."

In 1993, Navarro said, only public utility jeepneys can access the rough road linking Laak to Tagum and vice versa. "With the intervention of DAR, the municipal LGU and other implementing agencies, farm-to-market roads were opened and public utility buses started to operate."

"Likewise, with the collaboration of various stakeholders, new technologies were introduced to the community and contributed to the increase in the production of rubber, the ARC's major crop, by 2,101 kilograms per hectare per year, higher than the regional average of 1,922 kilograms per hectare per year" Navarro said.

"We are also very proud that in 2007, one of our corn farmers in the ARC was the National Gawad awardee. The recognition boosted the morale of our farmers and encouraged them to strive harder which resulted to an increase in production by an average of 3,500 kilograms per hectare per cropping," Navarro said.

In addition, the BIO-N technology introduced by UP-Los Baños through the Department of Agriculture (DA) is now being sustained by Mangloy Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MAMPCO), a millionaire cooperative in the ARC. With the assistance of the Municipal LGU and Municipal Agriculture Office, the cooperative is pursuing its mass production and distribution efforts to the farmers within and outside Laak, thereby increasing production at less cost.

To complement the inroads gained in agricultural production and infrastructure, Laak now boasts of better business and educational opportunities for its constituents. Two private tertiary schools have opened its doors - the Laak Institute Foundation and Holy Queen Foundation. The Rural Bank of Montevista now has a branch in Laak while MAMPCO continues its bank-like operations.

	Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM Regional Office XI Catalunan Pequeño, Davao City