agrarian reform, rural development, local governance, Philippines

ASDP stands for Area-Specific Development Program. It is a 3-year area development program jointly implemented by KAISAHAN and its identified local partner/s in the area. The overall objective of the program is to increase access and control of land and its resources by men and women farmers and farm workers towards rural development.

ASDP is a rural development program that addresses rural poverty as a result of landlessness of peasant households. The program is premised on the fact that equal distribution of resources in the rural community (land and its resources, basic social services by the LGU and government agencies) will reduce rural poverty. Such a condition can be brought about by organized rural sectors with high level of knowledge and skills in claim making for recognition of human rights and greater participation of community stakeholders in local decision-making processes. The program has been imlemented by KAISAHAN since 1995.

Calatagan farmers trooped to Congress to lobby for CARP extension

• PO strengthening - having a strong organized PO at the barangay level is deemed important in that a lot of community issues will be easier to resolve once the people are organized, collectively discusses local issues, strategizes and formulates plans, and then harnesses the power of collective action towards resolving their common problems.
• PL formation - paralegals are PO members who study the laws pertaining to local LTI/RTI and other community issues. They then use their knowledge of the law and legal system to help resolve these issues.
• Democratic Participation in Governance (DPG) - Strengthened POs seek accreditation and participate actively in their Barangay Development Councils (BDCs) and other local special bodies. In this way, they become involved in local decision-making (such as in identifying priority community problems and projects for community development, budget allocations, lobbying for local legislation, etc)
• Advocacy and Campaigns - we are working for the passage of favorable, pro-peasant and pro-AR national and local policies through the use of campaigns and pressure or metalegal activities.
• Support to Agriculture through the Agricultural Support Fund - the ASF was conceptualized to help protect the gains achieved in AR by helping the acquired lands become more productive. A common problem in rural areas is the lack of support services being provided to farmers and FBs. Under such a scenario, a lot of FBs would mortgage or sell the rights to their lands if the lands are not productive or if they do not have the means to make them more productive.

Agree or Disagree? That is the Question -- An activity in the training for Anti-mining advocates

Goat Dispersal, a Farmer's Coop Project in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental

Jun Pacamalan, the MPDC of Alubijid, Misamis Oriental speaking in the BDP-PRA of Brgy. Sanpatulog

• Dynamic POs - the PO members are active
• Active PLs - PLs possess basic PL knowledge and skills and apply them
• Functional BDCs and/or other participatory mechanisms - BDCs have accredited the POs and the PO representatives actively participate in local decision-making (such as in formulation of the Barangay Development Plans)
• Participatory processes adopted by brgy, and possibly municipal LGU; greater transparency and accountability of public officials
• RTI/LTI issues are being resolved
• Policy issuances are adopted
• Agri-based projects contribute to increased household incomes

Victory party at Hacienda Maria to celebrate Supreme Court ruling on the Indefeasibility of EPs and CLOAs

Networking/linkaging with alternative law groups remains a major concern for LAU for effective and concerted advocacy efforts at the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Kaisahan is an active member of Alternative Law Groups, Inc. (ALG), a coalition of seventeen (17) non-governmental organizations with varied concerns and advocacies operating throughout the Philippines.

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KAISAHAN has been very active in policy advocacy and campaigns work since its conception. Its work on this area range from formulating and pushing for policies advantageous to the agrarian reform sector while continuously blocking and monitoring policies that are unfavorable to the farmers and farm workers. Thus, its overall objective on this endeavor is to create a favorable policy environment for agrarian reform implementation at the local and national levels.

Participants of the BDP-PRA during the sectoral workshop

• Contribute in creating public awareness on ARRD and local governance issues through a policy formulation, production of information and education materials, and publication work
• Pursue public and media advocacy, networking and claim-making work alongside like-minded NGOs-POs and development advocates on ARRD and local governance issues
• Work with reform-oriented government officials, legislators and policy implementers in pursuing a faster and more meaningful ARRD and institutionalizing democratic participation in governance among LGUs
• Provide analysis of issues and policies and propose policy changes where necessary

Talaba 2 Corn Sheller Project from ASF

• Briefing sessions, production of concise documents on particular issues, making draft ordinances and laws, getting positions and standpoints heard
• Networking with like minded organizations and media advocacy work
• Public opinion formation at the grassroots and NGO level through conduct of discussion groups, educational discussions, forum and roundtable discussions
• Publication and dissemination of advocacy materials, PULSUHAN and Pressure Point
• Mass Actions and Mobilizations

FGD for the ASDP mid-project assessment

Kaisahan is a co-implementor of Paralegal Education Skills Advancement and Networking Technology (PESANTEch), a paralegal development program being undertaken in partnership with SALIGAN and BALAOD. Paralegals are given the appropriate basic training in both substantive and procedural laws as part of the PESANTEch's over-all strategy to capacitate them to address legal issues involving resource tenure improvement and access to justice (RTI/AJ) issues in their localities.

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Subject to a set of criteria, Kaisahan through its LAU provide legal and consultancy services assistance for small farmers, farmworkers and marginalized rural poor through their organizations and partnership with support agencies involved in agrarian problems cases. Cases being handled by LAU principally involve farmers' cases involving tenurial issues.

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The Kanlayan Resource Center or Kalinangan ng Malayang Kaisipan (Cultivation of Liberating Thinking) was established as a resource center on agrarian reform and local governance. It has three major work areas: research and communication and information management including the library, publications, website, database, etc. The key function of Kanlayan as a program is knowledge management. Being this, it publishes a quarterly newsmagazine on agrarian reform and rural development issues and manages the KANLAYAN Library.

The library is aimed at providing information services not only to KAISAHAN staff but also to students, partners and researchers. Currently, Kanlayan has over 2,000 collections of books, VCDs, VHS and files on agrarian reform and rural development issues. In addition, the database of our books, periodicals and occasional papers can be viewed in our on-line library. Kanlayan also has books and manuals for sale.

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