A total of 14 farmer-beneficiaries in Babatngon town in Leyte have received their Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOAS) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Local agrarian reform program officer Leonora Asaldo said on Tuesday 22 titles have been handed over to farmers under the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) covering an area of 28.9 hectares.

These farmlands are located in the villages of Lukay, Gov. Jaro, and Bagong Silang in Babatngon town.

“We have been distributing the land titles since the start of July. We still have 73 more to distribute but we have to schedule them every week because of the current health situation. We have to control crowds and ensure that physical distancing and health protocols are followed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19),” Asaldo said.

CARP is a special project of the government that aims to redistribute public and private agricultural lands to landless farmers.

The government, through this program, envisions farmworkers to have equitable land ownership with empowered agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB).

Meanwhile, the DAR regional office here has been implementing several initiatives under its Covid-19 pandemic response project, implementing the Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

One of which is the distribution of food packs and hygiene kits covering over 9,000 ARBs in the region.

DAR Eastern Visayas office-in-charge Ismael Aya-ay said the initiative intends to provide supplemental food for the sustenance of poor ARBs and supply them with hygiene products for their protection.

During the community quarantine, DAR has also assisted a total of 65 farmers association across the region to market their products that generated a combined sale of more than PHP23 million.

For the farm productivity assistance to ARBs amid the health crisis, Aya-ay said some 4,087 beneficiaries will receive this month’s crop production inputs starter kit.

“The procurement of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and farm tools is now being undertaken to catch-up the scheduled distribution in the last week of July. This will help out farmers meet the nutritional requirements of our household and generate income from surplus production,” he added.

DAR will also select 15 female ARBs from the six provinces for its livelihood support for women in a crisis, who will be receiving a livelihood package based on their preferences and capabilities.

Priority will be given to women with special circumstances such as single parents, widows, senior citizens, heads of households, groups of indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities who undertake farming activities but lost their income due to community quarantine, Aya-ay said. (PNA)