Republic of the Philippmes DEPARTMENT of AGRARIAN REFORM MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO.: Og Series of 2003 SUBJECT: OPERATIONALIZING THE DEVELOPMENT OF KAPIT- BISIG EABAN SA KAHIRAPAN AGRARIAN REFORM ZONES (KALAHI ARZones) BACKGROUND/RATIONALE In 1993, the development of Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) was launched as 2 strategy to accelerate and sustain national growth through a people centered, concerted, holistic and area-focused approach in community development. More than just a Department's key strategy for support services delivery, it is the over-arching framework that would guide Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and other CARP-implementing agencies in delivering integrated development interventions on land tenure improvement (LTI) and program beneficiaries’ development (PBD) in agrarian reformed-laids where there is a critical mass of beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) The ARCs are envisioned to serve as growth points in the countryside, as pilot areas where partnership and convergence between and among stakeholders are showcased and where these stakeholders may concentrate and optimize use of their resources and evelopment efforts, and as windows for viewing the impact of the CARP on the lives of the beneficiaries and other farmers. As of December 2002, there are 1,543 ARCs launched in 1,112 municipalities covering more than 5,800 barangays, or 24% of the 24,287 barangays covered under the CARP. On the average, each ARC covers 3-4 barangays. Out of the total ARCS, only 712 ARCs or 46% arc with forcign funding assistance. The total ARC working scope is 1,391,061 hectares, which is only 32.4 % of the total CARP working scope and of which 1,247,250 hectares, or 89.7%, have already been distributed. In terms of iber of beneficiaries, the accomplishment in land distribution and leasehold translates to 798,631 ARBs, representing only 27% of the total 3 million ARB population. In addition, about 65% of these ARCs are at medium to high level of development and have to be integrated into the economic mainstream. These ARCs need second level specialized types of services, which could not be provided at the level of the ARC since these Would require not only institutions and economies of scale to be viable but more importantly convergence of interventions from various government agencies and other concemed development institutions and sectors. With these challenges ahead, the DAR recognizes the need to enhance the ARC development approach to improve delivery of support services not only to ARBs in the ARCs but also to farmers outside the ARCs, and thus help accelerate development Filiptical Road, Diliman, Quezon Cay + Tel. (632) 92: TRODBPR Poatmeat atin flor ‘will fo eptsg plese cite this tubes ©3030546 x/0 and alleviate poverty in the countryside. In line with the national government's anti- poverty program, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHD, the DAR has entered into a working partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to adequately cater to the developmental needs of a greater percentage of the rural poor and thus create a comprehensive and broader foundation for sustained economic development and growth. ‘Thus, the Kapit-Bisig Laban si Kahirapan Agrarian Reform Zones (KALAHL ARZones) Development Strategy is adopted to rationalize, integrate and institutionalize the delivery of support services to ARBs as well as to other poor farmers. This involves not only the complementation and convergence of resources and programs of partner agencies such as DOST’s national research and development program, DA's Agriculture and Fisheries Modemization Program but also the expansion of the arca-coverage through the integration of ARCs and adjacent barangays with DSWD’s priority KALAHI arcas, DA’s Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZs) into viable economic agrarian reform zones, to be called the KALAHI AR Zones. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The KALAHI ARZones Development Program is a program that will concretely operationalize partnership and convergence of the rural development efforts of the DAR. DA, DSWD and DOST, and also other CARP-IAs. It is basically intended to sustain and extend the gains in DAR’s ARC development program (ARCDP), DA’s SAFDZ, DSWD's KALAHI-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Support Services (CIDSS): Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB) and DOST’s National Research and Development Program to create a modernized and socially equitable agriculture sector. The KALAHI ARZone is defined as a sub-provineial area comprising of one or more municipalities with critical mass of agrerian reform beneficiaries and. farming, houschokls. It shall be composed of DAR’s ARCs and adjacent agrarian reformed barangays within DA’s strategic agriculture and fisheries development areas and those covered by DSWD-CIDSS: KKB, which would redound (© improved farm productivity and increased household incomes for a greater number of farmers. ‘The KALAHI ARZone shall serve as the planning area and convergence cf operations of the DAR, DA, DSWD, DOST, other CARP implementing agencies such Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTT) and other govemment agencies including the National Anti- Poveriy Commission (NAPC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA): local government units (LGUs): the private sector, and civil society for the agriculture sectorm1. ‘The KALAHI ARZones approach offers a critical advantage since it allows coverage of communities which are diverse enough to encompass the entire chain of development process to influence the market, and integration or pooling of available resources, expertise and services of all stakeholders for beter complementation and mutual reinforcement of interventions. The program would adopt a more comprehensive approach, which is multi- disciplinary in character, and would provide for the integration of spatial and physical development with the economic, social, administrative, institutional and cultural aspects of development into one plan for a given geographic area Within the KALAHI ARZone framework, DAR shall facilitate access to and provision of agricultural support services, institutional strengthening and technical support to the villagers in the barangays. It shall work with the DA and other line agencies and LGUs with respect io the provision of agricultural suppott services, 3, promotion of production, processing and marketing technologies, mobilization of entrepreneurship, private sector investments, irrigation, post-harvest and other rural infrastructure facilities, DAR shall also work with the DSWD in the agrarian reformed barangays covered by KALAHE-CIDSS: KKB in relation 10 social infrastructure and local capacity building, e.g. community organizing, education and training of community leaders and promotion of barangay governance. DAR shall also work with DOST in the widespread promotion and adoption of “ best bet” technologies via on farm demo trials to farmers in the KALAHI ARZones. ‘As a partnership and convergence program, the development of KALAHI ARZones, would addressfood security, due mainly to improved farm productivity: social equity, since farmers shall be given equal aecess to an improved way of life utilizing awarded lands and maximizing use of approprinte technology-based, labor-employing, value- added driven production and agri-business systems: empowerment through active participation in local governance and planning, implementation and management of development projects that reduce poverty and generate economic growth at the countryside in particular and national development. GUIDING PRINCIPLES ‘The development of KALAHI AR Zones shall be pursued in accordance with the following basic principles of sustainability: |. Forging closer collaboration with different stakeholders so that their distinct, yet complementary programs’projects will have greater impact on rural development; resource infusion Shared responsibility for capital, technology and soci among partners from other governmentlline agencies, civil society organizations and businesy/private sector;