THE Ateneans for Agrarian Reform Movement (AFARM) held a “kapihan session” last March 7 with representatives from several farmer organizations, namely Save Agrarian Reform Alliance and Kilus Magniniyog. Through a more casual setting, the session aimed to encourage students to participate in discourse about the current issues hindering reforms of the agricultural sector.

Lanz Espacio, AFARM’s acting chairperson, notes that there is a disconnect between the products consumed every day and the ardent labor behind them. He said it is easy to be unaware or misinformed about the reality of farmer and fisherfolk when one did not grow up in their environment. This separation has gradually transformed into apathy, as more and more young people lose interest in the plight of agricultural workers.

Taking back land

The year 2014 saw more than 41,483 hectares of land under the agrarian reform program lacking Notices of Coverages, which are the documents needed to officiate the process of land distribution.

Joey Faustino, executive director of Coconut Industry Reform, highlights that 92 percent of coconut farmers are small farmers, meaning they possess around five hectares of land or less, while others work in factories. Control and ownership of agrarian reform beneficiaries are a point of concern for small landholders. They are pressured by both domestic and foreign agribusinesses who plan to lease these lands, leaving farmers little or no authority on their own property.

Faustino emphasizes that this is a form of land grabbing, also stating that its definition has become elusive. The typical situation includes technocrats who “bridge” foreign investors to an agricultural community, while offering farmers a leaseback for each hectare they take. As a compromise, they offer to build schools, churches, provide housing, and livelihood.

“To [the technocrats], it’s good… pero hindi ‘yun ‘yung nakabase sa kasaysayan nung nakagisnan ng magsasaka kaya kami pumapasok sa eksena (To the technocrats, it’s good… but it’s not based on the context that the farmers grew and that is where we come in),” he lamented.

Other farmers are tenants so they must first seek permission from the landowners regarding how much to farm and sell at a given time. This underlined the urgency of the redistribution of public and private agricultural lands to landless farmers and farmworkers, which was the focus of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Neglect of agricultural sector

At the beginning of his term in 2010, President Benigno Aquino III proposed to make the country self-sufficient in rice. Jun Pontiveros of Aniban ng mga Magsasaka, Mangingisda, at Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, says that despite it being a staple food for Filipinos and its rise in production, the country is importing rice rather than exporting it.

According to Rappler, rice production rose by 4.98 percent between 2010 and 2014. At 18.44 metric tons, the Philippines had reached its highest ever rice production record in 2013. Despite these gains, the National Food Authority continues to import large volumes of rice from Vietnam and Thailand in order to provide a buffer stock, in cases of natural disaster, dry spells, or price increases.

However, the increase in rice imports is also a reflection of the government’s neglect of the agricultural sector. In an interview with GMA News, IBON Foundation senior researcher Glenis Balangue criticizes the disparity between Aquino administration’s plans of increasing production and hectarage, and the current state of farmers.

“Kung titingnan ang record niya ngayon, hindi ito nangyari dahil sa wala naman kasi siyang ibinibigay na sapat na suporta para sa maliliit na magsasaka (If you look at [Aquino’s] record now, this did not happen because he doesn’t provide enough support for small farmers),” she stated.

Empowering small farmers

Agricultural workers are among the lowest paid in the country, with an average salary of Php 156.80 and average wage of Php 178.43 in 2013. Through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, the government has improved credit access for the sector in order to uplift the lives of farmers and fisherfolk. What is more critical, however, is reducing the profits of middlemen in the exchange of agricultural products.

Faustino explained that raw materials go directly to factories, with the help of middlemen who perform the transaction, who consequently earn more.

“Hindi ka aangat kung raw material lang (You won’t improve [your standard of living] if it’s only raw material),” he says, “Sayang na sayang, nasa kamay na nila, wala lang silang facility (It’s a huge waste, it’s already in their hands, they just don’t have a facility).”

In a Philippine Daily Inquirer article, Ernesto Ordonez, former undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture and Trade and Industry, stressed that the income of farmer and fisherfolk should be taken into account apart from the traditional measurement of production. Only then, he stressed, can the strategic and effective actions be identified, such as ensuring fair trade involving the grower and the factory worker.

“It’s really a very inequitable industry na inaccurate, inefficient,” Faustino said. He stressed the need for agricultural communities to take decisive action, as opposed to relying on the “city” to instigate reforms.

Continuing the fight

Raphael Balalad, Junior Program Officer for Focus on the Global South, said that listening to the stories of farmers can help Ateneans better understand the realities on the ground.

“[S]a pakikinig niyo sa mga kwento ng mga magsasaka, dun niyo makikita ‘yung trends e, bakit may malaking gap sa development paradigm (By listening to the stories of farmers, you can see the trends, why there is a huge gap in the development paradigm),” he said.

“Makikita niyo kung bakit ‘di masolusyunan ‘yung issue ng inequality, social justice issue, equal distribution of wealth (You will see why issues of inequality, social justice, and equal distribution of wealth aren’t solved),” Balalad added.

He also hoped that initiatives such as the dialogue will continue. “[L]ahat naman nagsisimula sa maliit, basta ma-sustain lang. ‘Yung mahirap sa struggle is ‘yung pag-sustain…[H]indi naman araw-araw filled ka with passion to help with struggle, pero importante is ‘yung ma-sustain ‘yung initiative (Everything starts small; they should just be sustained. What’s difficult about struggle is how to sustain… It isn’t everyday that you’re filled with passion to help with struggle, but what is important is that the initiative is sustained),” Balalad said.