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Agrarian Beneficiaries to Get PhP2.32B in Support

Manila—(PHStocks)—The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released PhP2.32 billion to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to fund the implementation of the Aquino administration’s support services for the agrarian beneficiaries.

The PhP2.32 billion is the partial release allotted for the Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD), DAR’s support service delivery component. The fund will benefit the following groups: the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), who will get the bulk of the said amount with P2.31 billion; rural women, who will get PhP4.3 million; and landowners, who will also get PhP4.3 million.

The PBD’s goal is to support beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in making their lands more productive, helping them create income-generating livelihood projects, and teaching them community governance.

Secretary of Budget Florencio “Butch” Abad said, “Filipino farmers who’ve been granted land under the agrarian reform program will gain much from this fund release to DAR. Through the PBD, the beneficiaries can make their farms more productive and bring their produce quickly to the market, among others.”

Aside from increasing crop yields and household income as well as helping the farmers organize themselves, the PBD will also help women in the agricultural work force become micro-entrepreneurs as part of DAR’s push for gender equality under the CARP.

“The DAR’s continuing support to agrarian beneficiaries is an important part of the agency‘s mandate to achieve agrarian reform. At the same time, we want to ensure that the government’s efforts to develop the rural areas will give our farmers a sustainable future,” Abad said.

Tasked with distributing land to landless farmers under CARP, DAR has managed to distribute a total of 6.9 million hectares of land or 751,514 hectares under this administration. Though the extension of the CARP has already lapsed last June 30, 2014, DAR is still continuing its mandated task of distributing acquired lands covered by CARP as well as supporting the beneficiaries.

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