agrarian reform, rural development, local governance, Philippines
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 KAISAHAN, Inc., 3 Mahabagin Street, Teachers' Village West, Quezon City, Philippines
KAISAHAN implemented its ASDP in 2004 in partnership with the Pagduso sa Agrikultura sa Tingob nga Aksyon sa mga Organisasyon sa Mag-uuma (PATANOM), a local federation of Peoples' Organizations (PO) in Iloilo. The following were the partner POs in the barangays covered by the ASDP:
Members of PATANOM in Barotac Viejo during their Strategic Action Planning
Based from the baseline study conducted to the said barangays in 2004, around 45 per cent of the total population earn from agriculture. Typically, farmers earn around P30,000 per annum, way below the P110,000 average family income of Western Visayas in 2003 (Source: NSCB, 2007).
Some of the issues concerning the development of the farmers include: slow land acquisition and distribution of agricultural lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, lack of good quality farm inputs, inaccessibility to and lack of knowledge on capital and
Awarding of CLOAs to ARBs in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo
KAISAHAN provided assistance to the different POs in formulating their respective Organizational Development Plans (ODPs) by conducting relevant capability-building activities that will assist the POs in realizing their collective goals. This also paved the way for the POs to further expand their membership and obtain legal identity. The POs became knowledgeable in project proposal-making, improving management skills, participatory governance and leadership, among others.
Through the ASDP, the Peoples' Organizations were able to access KAISAHAN's Agri-Support Fund (ASF), which provided the farmers capital fund to generally sustain the farmers' gains in agrarian reform. As an advocacy, KAISAHAN, together with the partner POs were able to push for a funds counterpart from the Barangay and Municipal Local Government Units (LGU) of Barotac Viejo.
Aside from the ASF, KAISAHAN also facilitated the capacitation of paralegals, at least five from each PO, who in turn will assist their fellow farmers in finding venues to resolve their Land Tenure
| Barangay/s | Name of Partner Peoples' Organization |
| Santiago, San Roque, Sto. Tomas & Puerto Princesa | Santiago, San Roque, Sto. Tomas and Puerto Princesa Integrated Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries' Multi-Purpose Cooperative |
| Dela Peņa | Dela Peņa Integrated Multi-Purpose Cooperative |
| Lipata | Lipata Multi-Purpose Cooperative |
| Rizal | Rizal Multi-Purpose Cooperative |
| San Geronimo | San Geronimo Agrarian Reform Multi-Purpose Cooperative |
| San Lucas | San Lucas Multi-Purpose Cooperative |
| San Miguel | San Miguel Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries' Association |
Source: www.municipalityofbarotacviejo-iloilo.gov.ph
Improvement (LTI) concerns. These paralegals were in the forefront in obtaining tenurial instruments of their fellow farmers.
PATANOM Team Building in Barotac VIejo, Iloilo
With ASDP implementation ending in September 2008, KAISAHAN recently assisted PATANOM in formulating the latter's strategic plan for sustainability.
