LandBank's agriCASH: DAR's involvement is unnecessary

Recently, the Land Bank of the Philippines has earmarked P198 million for loans to agrarian reform beneficiaries in the next three years. The project dubbed, Agri-enterprise Credit and Agri-finance Services (agriCASH), is reportedly “aimed to provide financial services to agri-based enterprises in Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) through selected countryside financial institutions, ARC cooperatives, LandBank-assisted cooperatives, and other lending conduits.”

Through this project, LandBank intend to release up to PhP198 million in loans from 2009 to 2012. It is also expected to “mobilize savings and generate share capital totaling PhP33 million for the three-year period.”   Notably, we can’t help but agree with LandBank’s president and chief executive officer Gilda E. Pico who said that the project could “further help sustain the improvements on increased incomes, agribusiness employment opportunities, and empowerment of agrarian reform beneficiaries and farmer organizations in ARCs.” However, what is disturbing in this project is the fact that through a memorandum agreement, this shall be supervised by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

To determine whether through DAR this project works, first and foremost, let us seriously look into the crisis besetting the country today. Lest we must forget, one of the more popular programs of all governments --- that is from Ramon Magsaysay to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo --- has been the land for the landless program. While these governments had termed it differently in their stay, the ultimate objective is the same. Supposedly, in trying to empower them by owning the lands they till, they will not only free themselves out of poverty, they shall be able help this country attain food-sufficiency.  

On the contrary, however, instead of helping this country be self-sufficient, we are continuing to subsidize this program. All these years, the beneficiaries have continued to behave like slaves when in fact, money-wise, this government had already spent a lot to free them. Worst, they've started to act like mendicants by raking in over PhP4.0 billion, through DAR, in annual subsidy.

With all these annual budgets for many years now, what has so far been achieved? Nothing much. Except for a few, some lands are abandoned. Others groups of beneficiaries who organized themselves into cooperatives are not cultivating them. Ironically, some of these beneficiaries are leasing out their lands and content themselves by simply earning rental. 

A typical example of how questionable this program is can be seen when one visits Manjuyod, Negros Oriental. The once mighty SyCip Plantation Inc. is not even a shadow of its old stature after being covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Then, the beneficiaries organized themselves into a cooperative and managed the affairs of the entire hacienda. Unfortunately, the cooperative was unable to run it profitably. Consequently, LandBank, the main proponent of the agriCASH project, reportedly foreclosed this huge property.  

Now, some portions are cultivated. Sarcastically, however, non-beneficiaries of CARP maintain these. These non-beneficiaries are mostly entrepreneurs and are profitably cultivating the same land where the beneficiaries failed.  

This scenario isn’t difficult to comprehend. It simply means that they should abandon the mentality of slaves and bury the attitude of mendicants. They are now free to till the land they own and be successful entrepreneurs.

DAR can’t help them in this concern. DAR is incompetent. Their incompetence and corrupt practices are so pronounced in unliquidated advances amounting to PhP1,471,392,800 and payments to alleged consultants of PhP646.5 million in 2006 alone. Whatever these consultants brought to this program, we are not aware of. What was obvious is, on top of this disbursement, DAR also paid PhP16.4 million in professional fees on the same year.   

Curiously, on top of these disbursements, training expenses amounted to PhP174.6 million. Who, probably, have they trained? If it was spent for the beneficiaries, then why are they abandoning their lands or mismanaged their cooperatives.  

From this development, what is imperative now is for this government to equip these beneficiaries with sound entrepreneurial skills through the able support of the Department of Trade and Industries. Let us train them also on new farming technologies through the guidance of the technical experts from the Department of Agriculture.  

As in all business undertakings, working capital is necessary. That makes the LandBank's agriCASH project appropriate and timely. However, this should have been done by offering supervised loans to the beneficiaries in coordination with sound, ethical, responsible and duly screened countryside financial institutions as well as professionally-managed cooperatives.

Once and for all, we should be straightforward. We all know that DAR is run by crooks and ideologues. While we all know that this project is timed for the coming election and incumbents need these ideologues' political support because of their mass base, the beneficiaries' betterment and self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship are paramount and necessary. 

Frankly, without belittling themselves, history tells us that ideologues are proven failures in entrepreneurship. As business misfits, they could never turn these beneficiaries into budding entrepreneurs. Due to this predicament, DAR's involvement in the agriCASH project is totally unnecessary. 

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