Business execs, DAR collab eases leases

Business leaders are collaborating with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to facilitate land leasing to help address farmers’ challenges.

“This initiative can give us a chance to increase investments in agricultural development while providing farmers an additional revenue stream,” private sector representative and GoNegosyo founder Joey Concepcion said.

The group comprises the private sector-led agriculture industry development initiative Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program (KALAP), which aims to raise agriculture productivity by harnessing the resources of the private sector to help small Filipino farmers.

Concepcion suggested that partnering with the private sector can help clear informal mortgages of the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) by negotiating with financial institutions.

He also mentioned that the private sector can simplify documentation processes, resolve title disputes, and establish clear ownership arrangements.

Target: Economy of scale

Increasing agricultural productivity in the country requires achieving an economy of scale, which has been identified as a crucial factor.

KALAP advised that the initial step is to identify the ARBs who are willing to partner with its big brother companies to initiate and expedite land leasing arrangements.

The Department of Agrarian Reform reports that over 109,000 hectares of land, which were previously under the Certificates of Land Ownership Award arrangement, have been awarded land titles. This has benefited more than 98,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries.