Article by Usec. Jerry Pacturan, Department of Agrarian Reform -
Among the three rural development (RD) agencies, it is only the Department of Agriculture (DA) who is a member of the economic cluster of the Cabinet, but the mandates and the work of the other two rural development agencies, the Departments of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), should be also be seen from the point of view of local economic development (LED).
In the current Philippine Development Plan (PDP) of President Benigno Aquino’s Administration, and for the first time in decades, the comprehensive agrarian reform program or CARP is now included in the chapter on competitive and sustainable agriculture and fisheries. This is a manifestation of the importance of small-holder agriculture in the development and competitiveness of the sector towards inclusive growth.
While having three separate rural development agencies (DA, DAR and DENR) has brought about focus and specialization of mandates, on hindsight, it has also resulted in a web of institutions that somehow brought about fragmentation of government management processes and programs for the agriculture sector in particular, and the rural development sector in general. Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons why inclusive growth has been so elusive in the agriculture and rural development sectors.
So, what is the National Convergence Initiative for rural development? This is not a totally new concept but a number of significant enhancements have been introduced by the current administration: an ecosystems approach (ridge to reef); a focus on constituencies; the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) assisted by DAR and upland dwellers in community-based forest management (CBFM) areas under the mandate of DENR; the coastal fisherfolk under DA-BFAR and DENR mandates; championing of the local government units (LGUs); and, measurable targets in promoting local agro-enterprise clusters.
The NCI is also working on the rationalization of the land and agribusiness investment policy and programs of the 3 RD agencies and the passage of the national land use bill.
The major benefits that are expected in the convergence work of the rural development agencies are: optimization and maximization of precious government resources, and complementation of national agency programs in partnership with local governments, civil society together with the private sector. This partnership has been initially started in the local convergence agro-enterprise clusters (LCAECs) of 10 pilot provinces.
Other areas for major rural development policy reforms of the NCI are agri-extension services, rural enterprise development, credit and risk mitigation and management, regulatory framework on real property rights, the establishment of small-holder based agribusiness models and making government support services to small farmers more proactive.
Taking stock of DAR’s contribution to this convergence effort, I ask myself now if what we are doing in NCI is contributing towards a fuller and more robust national framework for local economic development. It will be self-serving for me to say yes, and so let the results of our work speak for itself.
One thing that I have realized from my one year and two months in national government is that while national government provides policy guidance and strategic direction, it pays to listen from the public and the primary stakeholders and mobilize their active participation in governance and economic development efforts.