Farmers in the Philippines: from my senior thesis

I know that my friends in the Philippines are working hard for the CARPER and their country.
I will be praying for you, for you and the farmers are always in my heart.
Just want to share a part from my senior thesis about Agrarian Reform.
It may be things alot of people already know, but if it helps in any way, I am glad.

           ” It is often taken for granted that farmers in Japan own and tilt their own lands so as to produce goods and profit for the Japanese economy and for themselves. However, it should be noted that this is only possible since Japan went through agrarian reform after World WarⅡand is now one of the leading economic powers of the international community. Agrarian reform generally means the redistribution of land to its rightful owners, the farmers. This act of redistribution was significant for a former fascist and developing nation like Japan, to transform into a much more democratic and developed one. This is because agricultural land is the most important asset for most developing countries and a key factor to economic and political power.

           The ironic part of it though is that there is only a small amount of agricultural land in Japan compared to the Philippines. Thus, it is even more significant to look at the situation in the Philippines where land is primarily agricultural, but the people who work on the land are poor and hungry. Not only are land issues a problem for the farmers, but it is a concern to the whole Philippine community since agriculture is the labor-intensive sector where the country’s population is concentrated .

           However, some people may wonder why land has to be redistributed to the farmers in particular. There are three points to this argument. First, farmers cannot be separated from land, as fish cannot live without water. Land is crucial to their identity as farmers. A leader from one farmer community stated, “Land is the farmer’s life”. This farmer also mentioned that comments that they will not be able to till their land properly are “unfair and belittle the farmers’ abilities. A farmer will do all he can so that his land will be productive.”
           Second, owning their own land enables the farmers to improve their poverty level and contribute to the Philippine economy. Studies by the Philippines Institute of Development Studies in Mindanao and other parts of the Philippines have proved that Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), compared to non-ARBs, tend to have higher incomes incidence since irrigation, credit and government services promote higher incomes. Other indicators also show well-being of ARBs such as higher access to safe water, and sanitation facilities, higher educational attainment than members of non-ARB households. Thus, agrarian reform communities tend to increase the chances of farmers to be non-poor.
           Thirdly, the ownership of their land means that the Philippine government and landlords officially recognize the social injustice that they have done to farmers by robbing the land that had been legally owned by the farmers from the time of their ancestors. Because of this injustice, seven out of ten farmers in the Philippines remain landless and suffer from poverty. Furthermore, since 1988, when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARP or CARL) had been issued, only 1.9 million hectares of the targeted 10 million hectares of agricultural land has been distributed to farmers. In other words, only one-tenth of the agricultural land has been redistributed in the long time span of twenty years.
Therefore, despite the fact that agrarian reform in Philippines is significant for the economy, politics, and most of all for society, effective agrarian reform is truly a challenge.

           If land is redistributed to farmers who are the original owners of this asset, it can be the first step towards a much more democratic nation that recognizes conflict resolution, poverty alleviation, and protection of human rights. “