Developers buck conversion freeze

THE Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the Philippines, Inc. (OSHDP) calls on the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to reconsider the proposed moratorium on agricultural land conversion and set aside the draft Executive Order.

According to OSHDP, to ensure food security, the way forward is to boost agricultural land productivity and not to restrict access to land.

According to a statement sent to Sun.Star Davao, OSHDP says the compelling reason for such drastic policy proposal is simply not present.

OSHDP says various data show that the total area of converted agricultural lands for the past 28 years, from 1988 to 2015, is a mere 1.22% of the total agricultural lands in the country.

The agricultural lands actually increased by 9.5% based on 2005 to 2013 data, OSHDP says.

“Only 2.52% of the total land area of the Philippines is considered built-up using data on land cover,” the statement said. “The Philippines has more agricultural lands compared to some of our

Asean neighbors but our agricultural productivity is significantly lower.”

The statement also said Vietnam has allocated 30.35% of its land to agriculture while the Philippines has set aside 42.55%. However, Vietnam’s percent of value added 17.7% to their gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the Philippines figure at 11.3%.

“The negative impact of such proposal will outweigh any perceived gains,” the statement said.

OSHDP believes that the moratorium will have an adverse effect on the country’s housing production, particularly socialized housing, considering the unmet housing needs of 5.7 million, which is growing by 926,077 units per year and the fact that the housing sector could barely produce 20% of the annual target. Mary Lim/OSHDP (For full story visit www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/)