Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya—The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will be giving away free agricultural lands to new graduates of agricultural courses to maximize the development of the country’s agricultural resources.
Secretary John Castriciones said their agency is expected to distribute at least 20 hectares of agricultural lands in Boswanga, Palawan this week to 20 agriculture graduates, while another 30 hectares of agricultural lands in Lallo, Cagayan will also be distributed to 36 agriculture graduates on February 5.
“This is the right time for us to encourage our new graduates to patronize farming, especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic is still present,” he said.
Castriciones, along with other DAR central office officials, were in the province to conduct the KAMUSTASAKA 2021, an information gathering scheme to know the impact of the agency’s programs, projects, and services to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) in the province and the problems, issues, and concerns of the farmers to be addressed.
He said the free agricultural lands to be given to agriculture graduates will serve as a venue to apply their skills professional farmers.
Castriciones said the country has 230,000 hectares of government-owned agricultural lands which will utilized for distribution to agriculture graduates in the country.
“Under the law, an agriculture graduate will be getting 3 hectares of agricultural lands each. This is part of the law which was enacted in 1988 but it was not implemented. This will address the diminishing number of our agricultural workers,” he said.
