For Productivity & Efficiency – Farm Fragmentation Or Farm Consolidation? Directly Opposite Views Of William Dar And Conrado Estrella III

Land ownership of tenants, no matter how many and how long ago, has not released farmers from poverty – why does the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) continue to pursue it? The DAR allotment of P6.1 billion for 2023 for land titles could be used for increased farm productivity & higher farmer income! The DAR thinks “Lack of Land Ownership“ is The Primordial Problem and not “Farmer Poverty!”

I am reading Jonathan l Mayuga’s news report, “DAR Allots P6.1B Of 2023 Budget For Land Titling Project” (21 Nov 2022, BusinessMirror, businessmirror.com.ph). Mr Mayuga says:

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will spend around P6.1 billion for the implementation of a project that seeks [for] the subdivision of collective certificates of land ownership [awards] (CCLOAs) and eventually issue individual land titles to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

That is to say, the DAR institutionally believes that collective land ownership is anathema to production & profit in farming. The DAR is saying that individual farmers are more productive & profitable than collective farmers.

I believe the opposite is true: Consolidation, not fragmentation, is the answer!
(Lower image from facebook.com)

I first learned about land consolidation from my favorite Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, 2019- 2022. ANN says, “Farm Consolidation, Clustering Paves Way To Modernizing, Industrializing PHL Agri” (Author Not Named, 27 July 2020, Department of Agriculture, da.gov.ph). Mr Dar says:

Farm consolidation and clustering can significantly increase the productivity and competitiveness of Filipino farmers and fishers, including agripreneurs, as they will achieve economies of scale.

… Clustered farms attain economies of scale and a subsequently higher level of efficiency throughout the value chain – from reduced production and operations expenses, cheaper farm inputs as they could buy wholesale, [higher] harvests and selling their produce directly to markets and institutional buyers, to realizing bigger revenues and incomes.

ANN says that in his 2^nd year as Secretary of Agriculture, Mr Dar pointed out, “Our farmers remain individualistic, unorganized and thus are not linked directly to markets” (Author Not Named, 08 Oct 2020, “‘Cooperativism, Clustering Are Saving-Links To Make Filipino Farmers Competitive’ – DA Chief,” Department of Agriculture, da.gov.ph).

Calixto V Chikiamcosays, “Land Consolidation Is The Answer” (02 Oct 2022, BusinessWorld, bworldonline.com), and quotes Mr Dar:

… The primary binding constraint in the development of Philippine agriculture is land fragmentation. The answer to our agricultural woes is farm consolidation and modernization. Nothing else. All other efforts will fail.

Yes Sir! “The answer… is farm consolidation and modernization.” These 2 major government policies cultivate & nourish each other so that farmers come to know better what they are doing. You can increase farming efficiency only by employing modern systems and machines such as for soil cultivation & enrichment, planting or transplanting, continuing crop culture, harvesting, drying, processing, storage, transporting and marketing – including cooperativism and banking.

Conrado Estrella  III, Secretary of Agrarian Reform, insists on the project (sic) “Support To Parcelization Of Lands For Individual Titling (SPLIT).” I say SPLIT is splitting farm operations efficiency & productivity!@517