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July 18, 1996

 

DAR MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 13-96

SUBJECT    :     Strategic Direction of Support Services

 

I.       Introduction

It is the policy of the State to pursue a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The welfare of the landless farmers and farmworkers will receive the highest consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation toward sound rural development and industrialization, and the establishment of owner cultivatorship of economic-size farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.

To this end, a more equitable distribution and ownership of land shall be undertaken to provide farmers and farmworkers with the opportunity to enhance their dignity and improve the quality of their lives through greater productivity of agricultural lands.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as the lead agency in the implementation of CARP is mandated to improve land tenure through better access to and more equitable distribution of land and its fruits and to promote the welfare of program beneficiaries through the coordinated delivery of support services.

In pursuit of this mandate, the DAR is implementing two (2) major program, namely; Land Tenure Improvement (LTI) and Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD). Operationalizing these two programs is in response to the persistent problems of landlessness, powerlessness and low income among farmers and farmworkers which have pestered and chained them for life into the shackles of poverty.

Land Tenure Improvement has two basic subcomponents, viz: land transfer (land acquisition and distribution) and non-and transfer (leasehold operation, stock distribution option, and production and profit sharing). It is pursued in line with the constitutional mandate recognizing the rights of landless farmers and regular farmworkers to own the lands they till, and other farmworkers to receive a just share of the fruits thereof.

On the other hand, Program Beneficiaries Development, as a major program designed to complement LTI, has two major subcomponents; Social Infrastructure Building and Strengthening (SIBS), and Enterprise Development and Physical Infrastructure Support (EDPIS).

SIBS call for the education and training of the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), and the formation and strengthening of ARB organizations, agrarian cooperatives and agrarian movement building. The goal of SIBS is people empowerment, which operationally means that the ARBs and their organizations can articulate, decide and chart their own destiny by acting collectively based on their existing situation or reality. Furthermore, the ARB organizations are envisioned to develop, operate and manage their own social enterprises.

Enterprise Development and Physical Infrastructure Support (EDPIS) entails the building up of a conducive and supportive environment for farming to be a profitable endeavor. This can be attained through adequate and timely delivery of support services, particularly credit, technology and basic physical infrastructure. The immediate objectives of this subcomponent is access to basic social and support services, improve productivity and increase household income that will redound to the economic empowerment of farmers and people's organizations.  cdasia

In the implementation of CARP, DAR shall see to it that while the two major programs of LTI and PBD are implemented to achieve specific objectives, each one is only an integral part of the whole agrarian reform program. Land Tenure Improvement and Program Beneficiaries Development and how they interplay could proved synergy in achieving CARP's end goal of social justice, equity, people and economic empowerment towards a viable agrarian community.

II.      Vision-Mission-Goals and Objectives of Support Services

A.     CARP VISION

Through the Agrarian Reform Communities, DAR hopes to achieve its VISION of:

"AN EMPOWERED RURAL POPULATION

where there are:

OWNER-CULTIVATED, HIGHLY DIVERSIFIED AND INTENSIVELY CULTIVATED SMALL OR COOPERATIVE FARMS

leading to:

SURPLUS INCOME FOR THE FARMERS ENABLING THEM TO CONSUME MORE GOODS

thus

DEVELOPING A DOMESTIC MARKET

capable of

CONSUMING HIGHER LEVEL OF INDUSTRIAL GOODS AND SERVICES

therefore enhancing

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND STRONGER LABOR DEMAND."

B.     Mission

"Creation of viable agrarian reform communities (ARCs) where ARBs and their organizations have ownership and control of the land and other productive resources and are able to operate and manage their own social enterprises towards an equitable and sustainable national development"

C.     Goals

The Support Services Office (SSO) in seeking to achieve its mission, pursues these goals:

1.         Peoples' Empowerment through the development of strong and viable farmers organization who take responsibility for their own development.

2.         Economic Empowerment through

a.         Increase of productivity of the land distributed to the Agrarian Reform beneficiaries from the present level to the provincial standard of production.

b.         Increase of income of each family to take them outside the poverty threshold.

D.     Objectives

1.         To manage the development process that would institute the development of a strong and viable farmers organizations compose of the Agrarian Reform beneficiaries and other small owner-cultivators in the agrarian reform communities.   DCIAST

2.         To build the capability of the ARBs organizations operating and managing their own social enterprises.

3.         To provide mechanism for the delivery of economic and physical infrastructure support that would improve productivity and increase the income of the ARBs in order to take them outside the poverty threshold.

4.         To establish partnership programs with government and non-government organizations, people's organizations, agri-business organizations to expedite the development of viable ARCs.

5.         To coordinate with other units of DAR and training institutions inorder to build and harness the internal capability of PBD implementors.

6.         To install a PBD data-based management system for efficient monitoring and evaluation of program implementation.

7.         To generate funding support for the various PBD activities.

8.         To develop operations policies and guidelines for efficient and effective PBD implementation.

D.     Key Result Areas (KRAs) and Performance Indicators

In realizing the above goals and objectives, the SSO shall have the following key result areas and performance indicators which will henceforth appear in the Performance Contracts of those in-charge of the Program Beneficiaries Development.

KEY RESULT AREAS                                              PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

1.   Program and Project              •     Programs and projects installation

      Development and                         both local and foreign funded

      Management                          •     Functional coordinative structures and mechanisms
                                                        •     Number of viable ARCs

                                                       •     Number of viable ARBs' social enterprises

                                                       •     Number of physical infrastructure facilities accessed

                                                       •     % increase of ARBs reach

                                                       •     % increase of ARBs' productivity

                                                       •     % increase of ARBs above the

                                                         poverty threshold

                                                       •     % increase of ARBs' income

2.   Partnership Establishment       •     Schemes of partnership

                                                   •     Expanded number of partnership

                                                         with GOs, NGOs, agri-business

                                                         organizations and POs

3.   PBD Staff Development         •     Competency level of PBD Staff

                                                   •     Organization Maturity level of

                                                         ARCs

                                                   •     Provision of technical assistance

                                                   •     timeliness and regularity of reports

4.   Program Monitoring and        •     sectoral M and E system installed

      Evaluation                              •     management report

5.   Resource Mobilization           •     Amount of resource mobilized

6.   Program Policy                      •     Number of operations policies and        Development          guidelines implemented

The weight to be given to PBD will depend on the responsibilities given to each official. The weight assigned to PBD KRAs in the Performance Contracts of the officials, personnel, or offices named below shall not be less than the weight assigned below:

A.  Undersecretary for Field Operation & Support              35%

      Services

B.   Assistant Secretary for Support Services                       80%

C.  Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries                       80%

      Development

D.  Project Development & Management Service               80%

E.   Regional Directors                                                        25%

F.   Assistant Regional Director for Operations                    50%

G.  Regional Support Services Division                               80%

H.  Provincial Agrarian Reform Officers                              25%

I.    Provincial Agrarian Reform Support Services                80%

      Officers

J.    Beneficiaries Development & Coordination                   80%

      Division

K.  Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers                              50%

L.   Development Facilitators*                                             50%-100%

*          The LTI and PBD weight distribution for Development Facilitators in relation to LTI balance are as follows:

 

LTI BALANCE         LTI WEIGHT                       PBD WEIGHT

 

      90-100%                     50%                                      50%

      80-89%                       45%                                      55%

      70-79%                       40%                                      60%

      60-69%                       35%                                      65%

      50-59%                       30%                                      70%

      40-49%                       25%                                      75%

      30-39%                       20%                                      80%

      20-29%                       15%                                      85%

      10-19%                       10%                                      90%

      1-9%                           05%                                      95%

      0                                  0                                           100%

However in regional and provincial offices where land distribution has been completed, the RD, ARDO, PARO and MARO will have as 80% weight assigned in their PBD KRAs.

III.    CORE STRATEGY

Support Service Provider and Mobilizer to PBD Program Implementors and Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries

IV.    Programs and Projects

A.        Social Infrastructure Building and Strengthening (SIBS)

1.         Institutional Development Support

This program component aims to build and strengthen organizations of small farmers to access and generate their own resource to meet their identified needs. Self-help, self-propelling and self-governing shall be the underlying principles that will govern these organizations in order to ensure their long-term viability.   ICTDEa

This component, designed to develop the human capital of the agrarian sector, is the core of the program because it prepares the beneficiaries for the effective utilization of the other program components.

           Community Organizing — Adopt the Institutional Development Framework which involves four sequential phases, viz: social preparation or pre-organization phase, organizational phase, capability building phase, and enterprise development and alliance building phase.

           Peoples' Organization/Cooperative Development — Encourage and promote the building of people's organizations, agrarian cooperatives and of the agrarian movement.

           Settlement/Plantation/Estate Development — Develop organizing models and strategies for relatively "large chunks" of CARP areas as settlements, plantations and estates.

2.         ARB Education and training Support

            This program component is designed to complement the Institutional Development component through a ladderized or serial approach to training and education of ARBs. A set of training courses are designed to provide a wide range of skills enhancement and learnings, from basic orientation on CARP to technology transfer, community organizing, leadership formation and development, conflict resolution and mediation, systems installation, resource linkaging and alliance building.

B.        Enterprise Development and Physical Infrastructure Support (EDPIS)

1.         Enterprise Development Support

            The ARB organization should be able to access and properly utilize internal and external resources to be able to sustain the growth and development of their community. The ARB organization must define the entry point of the development process that would propel their growth from livelihood income generating projects to social enterprises and ultimately to viable agro-based rural industrial center which are linked with other ARCs and the provincial and regional growth centers.

           Savings Mobilization — internal capital build up of ARB organizations to finance their projects and services to the community.

           Social Entreprenuership & Enterprise Development

            The harnessing of entrepreneurial skills of some groups of ARBs and/or the ARB organizations by developing social enterprises for the economic betterment of a community not only to generate profit but also provide services to the greater number of the populace. This involves venture nurturance, industry opportunity seeking, actual deployment of resources, full commercial operations, expansion, integration or consolidation of services and/or product from the community to the provincial and regional growth centers.

           Investment and Marketing Assistance — aims to identify investment potentials in the CARP covered areas and encourage investors to direct their interests in agri-business opportunities in these areas. The program will also promote a market-propelled and diversified production systems utilizing diversified and high value crops and improved farming systems in the ARCs.

           Credit Assistance — Install a credit scheme for the ARCs through setting up a Guarantee Fund program, Liquidity and Re-discounting Facilities. Develop a credit system for "non bankable" farmers which would include loans both for food and subsistence needs and for production assistance.

           Productivity System Development/Farming System Development — Motivation to increase farm productivity is just the first step. The next step entails the building of the farmers capacity and skills in utilizing to the fullest and in a sustainable fashion the productivity potential of the piece of land the farmers have acquired. This means that the farmers have to learn to apply technologies that have been proven appropriate and environmentally sound to increase farm productivity like MALIGAYA rice, SALT, BUKHAY model etc.

2.         Physical Infrastructure Support

            This program component coordinates the delivery of infrastructure support to livelihood and enterprise activities of the beneficiaries. Focus is on labor-based construction technology to provide additional income opportunities to the rural sector.

            The range of infrastructure services includes roads and access trails, post harvest and storage facilities, irrigation facilities, mini-dams, and public utilities.   TAIcaD

V.     PBD-SUPPORT SERVICES OPERATIONAL MECHANISM

The operationalization of the LTI-PBD framework is the main task of the DAR. However, within DAR, there has to be a well-defined delineation of responsibilities of organizational units with respect to the implementation of LTI and PBD. At the Central Office level, the Office of the Undersecretary for Field Operation & Support Services is primarily responsible for the integrated operationalization of both programs. Field Operations Group (FOG) is responsible for implementing LTI and the Support Services Office (SSO), for PBD. FOG is comprised of the Bureau of Land Development (BLD) and the Bureau of Land Acquisition and Distribution (BLAD) while SSO is comprised of Project Development and Management Service (PDMS) and Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD).

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Support Services is tasked to orchestrate the operationalization and to provide policy direction on PBD implementation at the national level. The SSO ensures the role complementation of BARBD and PDMS.

A.     Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD)

The Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD) is responsible for the development of policies, plans and programs and for providing technical assistance relative to the development of ARBs into viable ARCs. Specifically, it promotes the organization and strengthening of ARBs and the creation of socio-economic structure conducive for greater farm productivity and farm income.

BARBD operationalizes the SIBS program by managing the:

1.         ARBs Organizational Development

º           Develops, pilot test, and documents ARBs organization models for replication and/or nationwide application

º           Oversees the implementation of ARC development

º           Develops operations manual and ARBs policy guidelines

º           Conducts institutional audit of ARBs' organizations

º           Acts as Secretariat for the National ARC Task Force

º           Conducts semi-annual ARC Review and Planning Session

º           Develops the ARC management report

º           Provides technical assistance to foreign mission (project identification and preparation and appraisal of the SIBS component)

º           Provides technical assistance to foreign funded projects on SIBS component

2.         Sustainable Livelihood and Enterprise Development

º           Develops and updates livelihood directory

º           Establishes linkage with GOs, NGOs and agri-business organizations for livelihood and enterprise project implementation

º           Evaluates project proposal for resource accessing

º           Manages funds/accounts of Peasant Fund and Women Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Livelihood Program

º           Facilitates ARBs consultation workshops on alternative business arrangements for commercial farm deferred areas

º           Provides technical assistance in project proposal development for plantation-based cooperatives and settlement areas

3.         Partnership Development

º           Provides technical assistance in the establishment of regional tripartite bodies

º           Serves as the NGO Desk at the central office

º           Links NGO services with specific ARCs

º           Establishes partnership structure model and programs in specific regions

º           Maintains an updated list of NGO partners in ARRD

º           Acts as the Secretariat for the National WID Focal Point

4.         Investment and Marketing Assistance

º           Facilitates the skills upgrading of regional and provincial IMAOs

º           Links Investment and Marketing Opportunities to ARCs

5.         ARBs Education and Training

º           Develops ARBs' training program

º           Develops ARBs' provincial educators team

º           Develops training modules and implement Population and Gender Development trainings

6.         Monitoring and Evaluation

º           Review of ARC monitoring and evaluation report submitted by regional and field offices

º           Field investigation of ARCs

B.     Project Development & Management Service (PDMS)

The Project Development & Management Staff (PDMS) is responsible in the conceptualization, development and management of DAR LTI and PBD projects, both locally and foreign funded. It provides policy direction for resource mobilization in accordance with the approved priority areas for local and foreign funding. It also provides supervision on the evaluation of foreign and locally-funded projects, cash disbursement and other operating expenditures. PDMS operationalized through the following functional structures:

1.         Project Implementation and Management

           Coordinates with donor agencies in the finalization of funding requirements for approved foreign-funded projects;

           Implements selected foreign-funded projects;

           Monitors foreign assisted projects implemented by separate Project Management Offices (PMOs)/field offices;

           Provides GOP counterpart funds to foreign-assisted project; and

           Programs ASRF-funded infrastructure projects.

2.         Special Accounts Management

           Manages funds/accounts of DAR special financing programs;

           Establishes/institutionalizes the reasonable/affordable Credit Assistance for ARBs;

           Develops investment strategies and promotion of agribusiness projects for the development of ARCs.

3.         Project Development & Resource Mobilization

           Initiates/coordinates and/or provides support for the development of projects in accordance with the approved priority areas, for local and foreign-funding;

           Evaluates project proposals according to prescribe criteria;

           Groundworking with foreign donors/funding agencies for resource accessing;

           Provides technical assistance to foreign mission (fact-finding, project identification and preparation and appraisal).   TECIHD

4.         Monitoring & Evaluation

           Review of monitoring and evaluation reports submitted by regional/field offices;

           Field investigation and validation of ARF projects;

           Conduct of workshop/conferences on the strengthening of M & E of Support Services projects; and

           Conduct preliminary program impact analysis in selected projects.

C.     Regional Support Services Division (SSD)

At the regional level, the Project Development and Implementation Division (PDI), will be renamed as the Support Services Division and will operationalize the following functional units:

           Project Development/Resource Mobilization

           Social Infrastructure Building and Strengthening (SIBS)

           Enterprise Development & Physical Infrastructure Support (EDPIS)

           Special Technical Support (Farming System Development, Estate/Settlement Development and Task Forces concerns e.g. Operation Sugarland, Cocoland, etc.)

           Special Projects (ARISP, ARSP, WB, EU, JICA, AUSAID, FAO-TSARRD; NGO donors, NGO Windows, etc.)

           Monitoring and Evaluation

D.     Provincial Beneficiaries Development & Coordination Division (BDCD)

At the Provincial level, the Beneficiaries Development Coordination Division (BDCD) serves as the counterpart of the Support Service operational structures.

E.      Municipal Agrarian Reform Office (MARO)

At the municipal level, the Municipal Agrarian Reform Office ensures the support services and made available for and are accessed by the beneficiaries.

VI.    PBD-Support Services External Coordinating Mechanism

A.     Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC)

The BARC as the community-based implementing and coordinating mechanism for CARP shall identify possible opportunities for the provision of specific support services based on ARBs felt needs. As provided by Section 47 of R.A. 6657, the BARC shall:

           Coordinate the delivery of Support Services to the Agrarian Reform beneficiaries;

           Assist qualified ARBs in obtaining credit from lending institutions.

B.     Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM)

To ensure the successful implementation of the CARP, PARCCOM is organized at the provincial level. The PARCCOM coordinate and monitor the implementation of CARP. It provide information on the provision of the CARP, guidelines issued by the PARC and the progress of CARP in the provinces.

C.     CARP Implementing Team (CIT)

While the main responsibility for the implementation of the CARP lies with DAR, the following departments and agencies are expected to be equally involved and committed to the program and are directed to align their respective programs and projects with the CARP:

           Department of Agriculture (DA)

           Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR)

           Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH)

           Department of Transportation & Communication (DOTC)

           Department of National Defense (DND)

           Department of Justice (DOJ)

           Department of Budget & Management (DBM)

           Department of Trade & Industry (DTI)

           Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)

           Land Registration Authority (LRA)

Chaired by DAR, the CITS are functionalized at the national, regional, provincial and municipal level, to accelerate the Program for Beneficiaries Development (PBD) through the provision of social and economic infrastructure support.

D.     Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC)

The PARC is the highest policy-making and coordinating body on all matters related to CARP. Its functions include the formulation and/or implementation of policies, rules and regulations necessary to implement each component of the CARP. It may authorize its members to formulate rules and regulations concerning aspects of agrarian reform falling within their particular areas of responsibilities. It is also responsible in administering the Agrarian Reform Funds (ARFs). PARC is chaired by the President with the DAR Secretary as the Vice Chairperson.

E.      Social Reform Agenda Convergence in ARCs

The Social Reform Agenda (SRA) is a package of interventions that the Philippine government pursue to ensure the welfare of the disadvantaged group, to include farmers and landless workers, and their early integration into the political and economic mainstream. DAR in coordination with agencies champions are actively involved in orchestrating the implementation and consolidation of activities and efforts for the SRA.

The ARCs were identified as the point of convergence of the SRA. As such, it is in the ARCs where CARP implementing agencies who are also champions of the flagship programs focus their operations in land tenure improvement and synchronize the delivery of support services, intensify interventions to increase farm production, improve household income, and promote ecologically sound activities.

F.      Tripartite Partnership of GO-NGO-PO

The active participation of Non-government Organizations (NGOs) and People's Organizations (POs) in all aspect of program implementation including; policy formulation and advocacy, operations planning, institutional development and livelihood project implementation, program monitoring and evaluation, and resource mobilization are institutionalized at the national, regional, provincial, municipal and even at the community level. The tripartite coordinating bodies accelerate the implementation of the program for the development of viable ARCs.   TSADaI

This Memorandum takes effect July 01, 1996 and supersedes all issuances inconsistent herewith.

Done this 18th day of July 1996, Quezon City.

 

(SGD.) ERNESTO D. GARILAO

Secretary

 


 




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Department of Agrarian Reform
Elliptical Road, Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines
Tel. No.: (632) 928-7031 to 39

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