At least 163 farmers in Cavite are now new landowners after receiving their certificates of land ownership award from the Department of Agrarian Reform.
At the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction in Silang, Cavite, Secretary John Castriciones spearheaded the distribution of the CLOAs covering 112.32 hectares of agricultural land to farmer-beneficiaries from the municipalities of Naic, Tanza, Trece Martirez City, Dasmariñas, Magallanes, and Indang.
He told the farmers to organize into a cooperative.
“Now that you have your land titles, I encourage you to join agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations because it is through these organizations that the DAR courses through its various support services,” he said.
He encouraged the farmer-beneficiaries to avail themselves of the Land Bank of the Philippines’ accessible and sustainable lending program for a start-up capital to make their lands productive.
He said the credit at LandBank was very accessible to most farmers at a very low interest rate of 6 percent per annum.
“The department also has a housing program for the farmers. We already have its pilot project in the central office and other parts of the country, including Nueva Vizcaya, Cebu, and Davao. When this program reaches your community, avail (yourselves) of this program because you also need to have a house of your own,” he said.
He reminded the farmers of their obligations to their newly acquired property, advising them not to sell their lands.
He said their properties were very important since they would be passed on to their next generations.
According to Castriciones, DAR was working hard to increase its issuance of CLOAs and speed up giving various support services to the beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
He said President Rodrigo Duterte had tasked him to look after the welfare of the farmers and uplift their living conditions.