24 farmers in Escalante City get land

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental-North has awarded over 10-hectare land to 24 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (Cloa) distribution held in Escalante City recently.

Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Nilma Rosas, in a statement, said farmers’ years of hard work has finally paid off, as they become the new landowners of the land awarded by the government through the DAR.

“We will continue to provide you with support services as we want all of you to succeed and improve the quality of your lives,” she told ARBs.

Rosas also reminded farmers not to engage in any form of a lease contract.

The covered landholding included a 10.0013-hectare land formerly owned by Belen Manhuyod situated in Barangay Dian-ay in the northern Negros Occidental locality.

The activity was conducted through the land acquisition and distribution (LAD) process under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (Carper).

Under the program, public and private agricultural landholdings are acquired by the government to be distributed to tenants, farmers, farmworkers, and other tillers who are qualified to become ARBs.

This is in the form of Cloas covering one contiguous tract or several parcels of land accumulated up to a maximum of three hectares per ARB.

This is anchored to the agency’s aim to provide lands to landless farmers and farmworkers, guarantee the farmers' land security, deliver social equity and provide them with the necessary productive resources needed to ensure their economic viability and productivity.

With Negros Occidental still under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), the activity complied with the minimum health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Department of Health.

The DAR is the lead government agency that holds and implements comprehensive and genuine agrarian reform which actualizes equitable land distribution, ownership, agricultural productivity, and tenurial security and with the tillers of the land towards the improvement of their lives.

Source: https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1898469/Bacolod/Business/24-farmers-in-Escalante-City-get-land