336 Surigao farmers receive land titles after waiting for decades

BUTUAN CITY – After decades of waiting, 336 farmers in Surigao del Sur town finally received Monday titles to land they tilled.

Regional Director Leomides R. Villareal of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) told Manila Bulletin Wednesday the land distributed to farmers in Tagbina has a total land area of 576.6793 hectares.

“The distribution of these land titles is part of the continuing efforts of the agency to free the farmers from the bondage of landlessness and poverty," Villareal said.

The Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) assures farmers security over the land which they can fully develop with the support programs of DAR and other government line agencies.

Villareal said the agency is not only giving CLOAs to the farmers but also implementing support programs, projects, and services to aid the farmers in the development of their landholdings.

Last September, four cooperatives of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) in Surigao del Sur were provided with common service facilities worth R1.3 million by DAR, through its Agrarian Reform

Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS).

The facilities include four coffee dehullers and a coffee roaster, Villareal said.

The DAR also provides infrastructure support to its beneficiaries, such as the construction of farm-to-market roads, he said.

Last October, the regional office of DAR-13 handed over a 4.1km. road to farmers of Barangay

Concepcion in Sta. Josefa town, Agusan del Sur province.

DAR Secretary John Castriciones led the turnover of the

R24.8-million project that benefited some 805 agrarian reform beneficiaries in the area.

“Based on President Duterte’s objective to alleviate the living condition of farmers, DAR also supports other programs, projects, and services to aid the farmers in the development of their landholdings,” Villareal added.