Impact of Agrarian Reform On Poverty: Reyes, Celia M

Reyes, Celia M.
Working Paper
Impact of Agrarian Reform on Poverty
PIDS Discussion Paper Series, No. 2002-02
Provided in Cooperation with:

Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Philippines
Suggested Citation: Reyes, Celia M. (2002) : Impact of Agrarian Reform on Poverty, PIDS
Discussion Paper Series, No. 2002-02, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS),
Makati City
This Version is available at:

http://hdl.handle.net/10419/127779
Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use:
Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your
Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes.
Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial
Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them
machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise
use the documents in public.
Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen
(insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open
gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you
genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated
licence.
25 1977
2002
Philippine Institute for Development Studies
Surian sa mga Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran ng Pilipinas
Impact of Agrarian Reform

on Poverty
Celia M. Reyes
DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES NO. 2002-02
Service through policy research
The PIDS Discussion Paper Series

constitutes studies that are preliminary and
subject to further revisions. They are be-
ing circulated in a limited number of cop-
ies only for purposes of soliciting com-
ments and suggestions for further refine-
ments. The studies under the Series are
unedited and unreviewed.
The views and opinions expressed
are those of the author(s) and do not neces-
sarily reflect those of the Institute.
Not for quotation without permission
from the author(s) and the Institute.
January 2002
For comments, suggestions or further inquiries please contact:
The Research Information Staff, Philippine Institute for Development Studies
3rd Floor, NEDA sa Makati Building, 106 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines
Tel Nos: 8924059 and 8935705; Fax No: 8939589; E-mail: publications@pidsnet.pids.gov.ph
Or visit our website at http://www.pids.gov.ph
Celia M. Reyes
January 2002
(revised)
Abstract
Using panel data from about 1,500 farm households and estimating from a
logit model, results show that agrarian reform has had a positive impact on farmer
beneficiaries. It has led to higher real per capita incomes and reduced poverty
incidence between 1990 and 2000. Compared to nonagrarian reform beneficiaries, the
agrarian reform beneficiaries tend to have higher incomes and lower poverty
incidence. Moreover, complementary inputs such as irrigation, credit and government
services tend to increase the chances of farmer-beneficiaries to be nonpoor.
Executive Summary
The study aims to assess the impact of the agrarian reform program on
poverty. It seeks to determine whether beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program
have benefited in terms of higher incomes and reduced poverty incidence.
The study uses the panel data generated by the CARP-IA Micro-Meso
Component. The first survey was done in 1990 and the follow-up survey was
undertaken in 2000. The panel data provides socio-economic information on about
1800 households.
The results show that agrarian reform has had a positive impact on farmer-
incidence between 1990 and 2000. Agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) tend to have
higher incomes and lower poverty incidence compared to non-ARBs. Real per capita
incomes of ARBs increased by 12.2% between 1990 and 2000. Moreover, poverty
incidence among ARBs declined from 47.6% in 1990 to 45.2% in 2000. Poverty
incidence among ARB households is lower than among non-ARB households in both
years (55.1% in 1990 and 56.4% in 2000 for non-ARBs). The difference in the
poverty incidence between the two groups has widened in 2000 to 11.2 percentage
points from 7.5 percentage points.
The ARBs also tend to be better off in terms of the other indicators of well-
being compared to non-ARBs. They have better access to safe water and sanitation
facilities. Members of ARB households tend to have higher educational attainment
than members of non-ARB households.
The estimated logit model showed that being an agrarian reform beneficiary
tends to increase one’s chances of being non-poor. Access to credit and irrigation
facilities also tends to increase one’s chances of being non-poor. Being in an agrarian
reform community also has the same effect. The findings also suggest that household
size tends to lower one’s chances of being non-poor. This has certain implications on
the country’s policy on population growth. Although there was a reduction in the
average household size of ARB households from 6.30 in 1990 to 5.31 in 2000, it is
still higher than the average household size for non-ARBs (5.65 in 1990 and 5.28 in
2000).
Complementary inputs are necessary to maximize the benefits from agrarian

reform. Irrigation, credit and government services tend to promote higher incomes.
Moreover, agrarian reform communities tend to increase the chances of a farmer-
beneficiary to be non-poor.
Given the results of this study, it is important that the agrarian reform program
be completed as soon as possible. Moreover, agrarian reform communities should be
expanded to benefit not just ARBs but non-ARBs as well. Infrastructure support
should be extended to farming communities. Credit and extension services by
government agencies should also be made accessible to farmers.
In addition, the study highlighted the vulnerability of farmers to shocks,
particularly weather-related shocks. Owning land is not sufficient to minimize risks.
While higher incomes from diversified sources and higher savings are effective
towards minimizing risks, there is also a need for some safety nets, particularly for the
very poor. These safety nets would ensure that those hit by shocks need not resort to
coping mechanisms that would have long term negative impact on their human capital
as well as their productive capacity.
Table of Contents
1. Background and Objectives of the Study 1
2. The Scope and Content of the Study 1
3. Methodology and Data Sources 2
3.1 Data Sources 2
3.2 Method of analysis 2
3.3 Estimation Models 4
4. The Agrarian Reform Programs in the Philippines 6
4.1 Earlier Agrarian Reform Programs 6
4.2 The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law 11
4.3 Components of CARP 13
4.4 Previous Assessments of CARP 17
5. Impact of CARP on Poverty 20
5.1 Findings from the CARP-IA Survey 20
5.2 Models for Determining Poverty Status of Households 41
6. Impact of Shocks on Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries 47
7. Concluding Remarks 49
List of Tables
Table 1. Accomplishments in Land Distribution: Number

of Beneficiaries as of 1998 14
Table 2. Beneficiaries of Land Reform Program 15
Table 3. Distribution of ARB and Non-ARB Households by
Geographical Location 21
Table 4. Size of Landholding 22
Table 5. Length in Years Benefited From Agrarian Reform Program 22
Table 6a. Average Income of Households by Source in 2000 24
Table 6b. Average Income and Share to Total Income, 1990 24
Table 7. Average Income of Households in Current Prices 25
Table 8. Average Real Income in 1994 Prices 25
Table 9. Average Real Per Capita Income in 1994 Prices 25
Table 10. Average Expenditure by Commodity Group in 2000 26
Table 11. Poverty Thresholds, 1990 and 2000 27
Table 12. Poverty Incidence by Location 28
Table 13. Poverty Incidence in 1990 and 2000 28
Table 14 Poverty Gap Index in 1990 and 2000 29
Table 15. Poverty Status in 1990 & 2000 29
Table 16 Household Perception of their Socio-Economic Condition 30
Table 17. Household Economic Condition, 2000 31
Table 18. Educational Attainment of Household Members, 2000 32
Table 19. Average Educational Attainment of Household Heads 33
Table 20. Proportion of at Least Elementary Graduates Among 12 Years
& Above 33
Table 21. Proportion of At Least High School Graduates Among 16 Years
& Above 33
Table 22. Employment Status of Poor and Non-Poor Household Heads 34
Table 23. Employment Status of Household Heads and their Spouses 35
Table 24. Access to Potable Water, 2000 35
Table 25. Access to Sanitary Toilet 36
Table 26. Ownership of Television 36
Table 27. Ownership of Refrigerator 37
Table 28. Type of Housing Materials 37
Table 29. Crops Planted (June-November 1999) 38
Table 30. Crops Planted (December 1999 - March 2000) 38
Table 31. Perennial Crops Planted 39
Table 32. Farm Cultural Practices 40
Table 33. Land Productivity 41
Table 34. Parameter Estimates of Logit Model 42
Table 35. Actual vs. Simulated 44
Table 36. Parameter Estimates of Model 1 45
Table 37. Parameter Estimates of Model 2 45
Table 38. Proportion of Families Affected by Problems Caused by
the Financial Crisis 46
Table 39 Coping Strategies of ARB and Non-ARB Households 47
1. Background and Objectives of the Study
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has as its primary

objectives both the improvement of equity and the increase in productivity and growth
in the rural areas. Both should work towards more economic and political
empowerment of the poorer section of the rural populace and increase their social
capital. All of these should work towards the reduction of rural poverty and, through
its positive spillover effects, urban poverty as well. Poverty is generally defined here
as an inability to attain a minimum standard of living and indicates deprivation of
certain basic necessities of life, the most obvious being food.
After twelve years of program implementation, it is now timely to undertake a

study which will: i) analyze the consistency of CARP and the anti-poverty strategies
of the government from the late eighties till the present, and ii) document the actual
impact of CARP on rural poverty, and whether there are spillover effects on urban
poverty.
2. The Scope and Content of the Study
The study will undertake the following:
a. Evaluate the anti-poverty strategies and programs of the Aquino, Ramos and
Estrada administrations and show whether they are consistent with CARP and
whether there are coordination and links between the two sets of programs.
b. Establish, through statistical analyses, whether the CARP program has made
an impact on reducing the poverty incidences and depths of targeted
beneficiaries, their households and communities.
c. Give policy recommendations on how CARP can be made more effective in

poverty reduction and how the anti-poverty programs can contribute more
effectively towards this objective in view of CARP and its impact.
The study was also intended to establish the differential and total impact of the
components of CARP on the poverty incidence and depths of targeted beneficiaries,
their households and communities. The components of CARP are: i) land tenure
improvement, ii) land distribution, stewardship arrangements, stock options and
production and profit sharing schemes, iii) provision of support services, iv)
infrastructure building and improvements. However, the survey data gathered under
the project did not get information on the components of CARP. Thus, the present
study is not able to look into the impact of the different components of the agrarian
reform program.
The panel data used in the study included the beneficiaries of CARP as well as
those of earlier agrarian reform programs of the government. Thus, the observed
impact on poverty may be attributable not just to CARP alone but to the earlier
programs.
1
3. Methodology and Data Sources
3.1 Data Sources
The study makes use of survey data already gathered/being gathered by other
groups. These will be complemented by data coming from administrative reports and
other secondary data. Survey data that will be used are: 1) data from the household
survey of the CARP-Impact Assessment (CARP-IA) project being conducted by Dr.
Gordoncillo’s team, 2) the 1990 agricultural household survey conducted by Dr.
Gordoncillo, and 3) the 1998 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey.
Policy and program pronouncements as contained in official documents (such

as the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plans for 1986-1992, 1993-1998, 1999-
2004) will be the sources of information on poverty alleviation strategies and
programs of the government. These will provide the basis for evaluating the anti-
poverty strategies and programs of the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada administrations to
see whether they are consistent with CARP.
3.2 Method of analysis
Household data from the 1990 and 2000 Gordoncillo surveys were utilized to
examine the impact of CARP on the beneficiary households. A sample of about 1000
ARBs and 1000 non-ARBs were available from the two surveys.
Key economic and socio-demographic characteristics were picked up from the

two surveys. These include:
Household size
Location
Income, by source (farm vs. non-farm)
Expenditure, by type
Assets, by type
Educational attainment
Access to potable water
Access to sanitary toilet facilities
Housing structure
CARP status (whether ARB or non-ARB)
If ARB, type of ARB
Date of installation
Perceived welfare status (self-rated poverty)
To assess the impact of CARP on households, income-based as well as non-

income based measures of poverty were used to reflect the multi-dimensional nature
of poverty. For instance, income, consumption, ownership of durables, investment
and savings, and housing were some of the variables examined.
Cross tabulations were done using the survey data. Comparison of means of
the different variables were undertaken to see if the ARBs are faring better than the
non-ARBs in terms of the various measures of well-being.
2
A panel data was constructed by pooling the 1990 and 2000 surveys conducted
by Dr. Gordoncillo’s team. The panel data was used to determine changes in income
and poverty status of the households. Linear regression analysis and multinomial logit
models were used to determine which factors are significant determinants of
household income changes and poverty status changes. The list of explanatory
variables included CARP status, type of ARB and date of installation, size of parcel,
and educational attainment of household head (or average years of schooling of
household), and other socio-demographic characteristics.
Regression analysis was used to determine whether being an ARB is a

significant determinant of income. The dependent variable was income and the
independent variables included CARP status, type of ARB, and socio-demographic
characteristics of the household/household head.
Limited dependent variable models (logit) was also employed to determine

how being an ARB affects the probability of being non-poor. Poverty threshold for
2000 was estimated by updating the official poverty threshold for 1997 using the
consumer price index.
1998 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey
In 1998, the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) was conducted by the
National Statistics Office. This household survey provides data on different measures
of poverty as well as socio-demographic characteristics of the households. Since the
survey can identify ARBs and non-ARBs, the survey was used to compare the well-
being of the two groups in 1998 (the time when the Asian crisis was still raging and
the impact of El Nino was still being felt).
The APIS contains data on the socio-economic characteristics (such as

income, expenditures, minimum basic needs indicators, etc.) of the agrarian reform
beneficiaries and non-ARBs. The survey, however, does not provide information on
the different components of the comprehensive agrarian reform program.
The following variables were obtained from the APIS dataset:
Income
Expenditures
Assets
CARP status (whether ARB or not)
Access to potable water
Access to sanitary toilet facilities
Educational attainment
Household size
Coping mechanisms
While the APIS contains many variables that are also in the Gordoncillo
surveys, there was no attempt to link the different surveys. This is because the
differences in the survey instruments are likely to lead to incomparable measures of
3
income and expenditure. Nevertheless, the APIS data, by itself, can provide
information on how ARBs and non-ARBs fare in times of crisis. This could provide
some insights as to whether ARBs are less vulnerable to shocks than non-ARBs and
whether their coping mechanisms to declines in incomes are different.
3.3 Estimation Models
Logit models
Binary-choice models assume that individuals are faced with a choice between
two alternatives and that the choice depends on identifiable characteristics. The
purpose of a qualitative choice model is to determine the probability that an individual
with a given set of attributes will belong to one category rather than the alternative
category.
In this case, we want to determine what is the probability that a household will
be non-poor given a set of socio-economic characteristics of the household.
*
Let us assume there is an underlying response variable y i defined by the
regression relationship
yi = β ' xi + ui
*
*
In practice y i is unobservable. What we can observe is a dummy variable y defined
by
y = 1 if y i > 0
*
y = 0 otherwise
In this formulation, β ' xi = E ( y i / x i )

*
Prob ( yi = 1) = Prob (ui > − β ' xi )
Prob ( y i = 1) = Prob (u i > − β ' xi )

= 1 − F ( − β ' xi )
where F is the cumulative distribution for µ . In the logit model, the cumulative
distribution of u i is the logistic. In this case,
4
exp(− β ' xi )
F ( − β ' xi ) =
1 + exp( − β ' xi )
1
=
1 + exp( β ' xi )
Hence,
exp( β ' xi )
1 − F (− β x x ) =
'
1 + exp( β ' x i )
The dependent variable, y, is the poverty status, where 0 indicates being poor
and 1 indicates being non-poor. Poor households are those whose per capita income
is below the per capita poverty threshold. The poverty thresholds for 2000 were
estimated by updating the 1997 poverty thresholds determined by the National
Statistical Coordination Board. The thresholds are available by region and by urban-
rural. The consumer price index for the region was used to bring the poverty
thresholds to 2000 prices.
The explanatory variables to be used in the models include the following:

1. Educational attainment of household head
2. ARB status of household
3. If ARB, number of years that the household has been an ARB
4. Agricultural land size
5. Land type (irrigated vs. non-irrigated)
6. Location (in ARC vs. not in ARC)
7. Household size
8. Whether the household received assistance from government agencies
Multiple regression to determine per capita real income level in 2000
The dependent variable is real per capita income. The same set of explanatory
variables used in the logit model are considered in estimating the regression model.
5
4. THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM (CARP)
4.1 Earlier Agrarian Reform Programs
The skewed agrarian structure of the country has long been a major problem
that originated from the 400-year history of colonization. Unequal land distribution
and even worse, landlessness, following the establishment of the haciendas and the
encomienda system during the time of the Spaniards gave rise to numerous peasant
uprisings. This prompted the American colonizers to establish land reform measures
in the Philippines for the first time in the 1930s.
The first effort was by then Civil Governor William H. Taft who was able to
purchase 166,000 hectares of friar landholdings to be distributed to about 60,000
tenants. However, because of the tenants’ ignorance of the law and the colonial
government’s policy of selling the lands at a very high price, the bulk of these estates
went to American firms, businessmen, and landlords (Adriano, 1991).
The “Homesteading Program”, also by the American administration,

encouraged the migration and settling of Filipinos to unpopulated and uncultivated
areas as an effort to help develop these places. But the program did not succeed since
Filipinos preferred to stay in sitios and poblaciones (Adriano, 1991).
The Rice Tenancy Act (Public Act No. 4054) of 1933 provided for a 50-50
sharing arrangement between the tenant and the landowner, a 10 percent interest
ceiling on loans by the tenants, and the non-dismissal of tenants on tenuous grounds.
One of the provisions, however, was that majority of the municipal council members
should petition for the implementation of the law in their place (Adriano, 1991).
Because of the failure of past land reform measures, the government came up
with the controversial Robert Hardie Report of 1952. It contained three
recommendations and these were: a) the abolition of the share tenancy; b) the
establishment of owner-operated family-sized farms as the basis of the rural economy;
and c) the establishment of fair tenancy practices for those who unavoidably continue
to work on the land as tenants. Unfortunately, these recommendations were not
adopted by the Quirino administration preferring instead to continue through the
creation of the Land Settlement and Development Corporation (LADESECO) the land
resettlement program of the defunct National Land Settlement Administration
(NSLA) under the American regime. LADESECO and a number of legislations were
also employed by the Magsaysay administration in an attempt to solve the agrarian
problems of Huk surrenderees. Two of these legislations were the Agricultural
Tenancy Act (R.A. 1199) of 1954 and the Land Reform Code of 1955 (RA 1400)
which also became ineffective as the landlord-dominated Congress cut down their
reinforcement by providing only meager sum to the programs while watering-down
the provisions by raising retention limits and inserting additional requirements.
There are other several efforts on land reform in the early 1960’s. One of these
was the Land Reform Code of 1963 (RA No. 3844) which paved the way for the
creation of the Agricultural Credit Administration (ACA) and the Agricultural
Productivity Commission (APC), both were tasked to provide adequate support
6
services to the land reform program, but due to mismanagement and outright graft and
corruption, these entities failed to accomplish their mandate (Adriano, 1991).
Land Reform during the Marcos Administration 1
The first major attempt at land reform was Presidential Decree No. 27,
declared by President Marcos in 1972 under the Martial Law. Data on land
distribution in 1971 showed that over half (52 percent) of all agricultural lands were
controlled by the top 15 percent of landowners. PD 27’s main features were, like the
Land Reform Code of 1963, the Operation Land Transfer and the Operation
Leasehold programs. These programs and their implementation,0 however, remained
limited in many aspects and, like the previous programs, has a number of flaws,
among which are: a) the coverage was severely limited to rice and corn lands; b) the
lands covered are those used for farm production by 1972 but not those cultivated
from 1973 onwards; c) the seven-hectare retention limit is still considered high
compared to other East Asian countries whose programs were successful; d) the
program allowed absentee landlords to retain seven hectares while other countries
imposed zero retention limit; and e) the burdensome process of obtaining land was a
major obstacle to the rapid implementation of PD 27 (Adriano, 1991).
The agrarian reform program of the Marcos administration has four major
program components, i.e., the Leasehold Operation, Operation Land Transfer, Land
Consolidation, and Settlements. The strategy was to overcome various constraints in
agrarian reform such as administrative, financial, as well as managerial constraints.
The agrarian reform activities must be carried out in such a way that it can increase
productivity and income of small farmers. The private sector could assist the
government in modernizing the agricultural sector to complement the agrarian reform
program. Another equally important policy being imposed was that agricultural credit
must continue to flow to various priority projects of agrarian reform. Credit should
also be extended to small farmers to induce them to participate in government
programs and to promote social equity. It was also made imperative that the credit
delivery system should be improved. The Marcos Administration has also focused on
the intensified modernization program centered on the formation of compact farms
and the development of resettlement areas. Compact farming, complemented with
land consolidation of big landed estates, was said to bring about better management
and eventually result in the formation of cooperative farms. It also allows wider
access to modern farm technology and maximizes the benefits of economies of scale.
The development of resettlement areas, on the other hand, had to be done through
total community planning, giving more emphasis on effective land usage with better
market linkages.
The provision of various support services was also a major concern, among
which were the improvement of marketing system, farm-to-market roads, irrigation
and post harvest facilities, extension, research and institutional development.
________
1
This is based on the assessment in the 1987-1992 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.
7
As of the end of June 1986, the agrarian reform of the Marcos administration
has the following physical accomplishments:
• Leasehold Operation. The targeted date for the completion of the

leasehold operation by the Marcos administration was at the end of 1978.
By then, all tenants in rice and corn lands will have secured their written
leasehold contracts. This target, however, was not met, as it was only at
the end of June 1986 that the total number of farmers targeted to be
benefited by the program has been almost covered. There were a total of
538,758 farmers who have executed 727,849 lease contracts with their
respective landowners covering 567,078 hectares of rice and corn lands.
• Land Transfer. The full documentation of land transfer and issuance of

Certificates of Land Transfer (CLTs) were targeted for completion by
1980. These activities too were not accomplished at the target date. As of
the end of June 1986, a total of 657,623 CLTs have been issued to 440,239
farmer-tenants covering 755,172 hectares. This posts an accomplishment
rate of 104.3 percent out of the total CLTs to be issued. The landowners’
compensation, on the other hand, was targeted for completion by the end
of 1987 as indicated by the ten-year Plan (i.e. 1978-1987) of the Marcos
administration. This plan covered 37,100 landowners and 678,000
hectares. However, at the end of June 1986, only 12,391 landowners (or 33
percent of the target) were given compensation claims covering 262,357
hectares (or 39 percent of the target). Moreover, only around 4,339
landowners or 35 percent have been actually paid. As for the issuance of
Emancipation Patents, there were 22,187 EPs that have been distributed to
only 13,590 farmers or around 4 percent of the 373,100 farmers targeted
covering a total of 11,087 hectares or 1.5 percent of the 719,700-hectare
target area.
• Land Consolidation. The target for land consolidation was 54,000

hectares of rice and corn lands to be accomplished by the end of 1987. By
the end of 1986, there were 154 landed estates with an area of 99,928
hectares being tilled by 52,983 farmers developed for land consolidation.
However, there were only 19,709 Deeds of Sale given to 12,320 farmers,
which was used as basis for the issuance of Transfer Certificates of Title
(TCTs). The percentage of farmers who actually received Deeds of Sale
against the targeted number stood at 29 percent.
• Settlements. The administration has set the end of 1987 as the target date
for the resettlement of some 106,020 families and 71,740 pioneer settlers
in Mindanao particularly regions IX and XII. By end of 1986 however,
only 58,662 families were resettled in 46 settlements covering an area of
746,000 hectares. Various infrastructure facilities including 2,667
kilometers of roads, 327 bridges, 3,204 culverts, 2,670 settler’s houses,
468 school buildings, 73 health centers, 116 irrigation dams, 989 irrigation
pumps, and 127 motor/tractor pools were also constructed. This program
was complemented by various support projects such as the launching of
8
775 compact farms, 7 cooperative farms, and 135 intensive rice farming
projects which had benefited 27,682 farmers tilling an area of 50,894
hectares.
Assessment on the agrarian reform program under the Marcos administration

indicated was that it was limited in both scope and thrust as it failed to reach the
majority of the farmers. Covering only rice and corn areas, the program was able to
issue emancipation patents (EPs) to only 3.2 percent of its target beneficiaries based
on the original estimation in 1972. It has been observed that there was inadequate
support to the ARB’s. Problems in land valuation, landowner’s resistance and final
surveys have caused the delay of program implementation.
Land reform during the Aquino Administration2
The predecessor of CARP was the Accelerated Land Reform Program

(ALRP), initiated after the ratification of the Constitution in February 1987. The
ALRP, as in PD 27, imposed a ceiling of seven hectares for all croplands, the
distribution of large privately-owned farms, rice and corn lands, small farms,
alienable as well as disposable lands exempting areas such as ancestral tribal lands
and those that are used for public service. Other features of the program include
tenancy regulation and voluntary land sharing and corporate stock sharing as
alternative schemes to land reform. It may have contrasting features compared to past
land reforms; however it still had flaws in it. Hence, the Aquino government drafted
Executive Order No. 229 which focused on the administrative procedures and not on
the substance of an agrarian reform measure. It detailed the mechanics of land
registration, private land acquisition and the compensation procedures to land owners.
It also specified the composition and functions of the governing entities, which will
coordinate and supervise the implementation of the program. The land reform issues
such as the retention limit and priority areas were left for the Congress to define. Both
Houses produced their own agrarian bills. These two bills later on mirrored the
contrasting interests of both Houses. While the landlord-dominated Lower House
reflected the interests of landowners, the urban-based Senators emphasized the need
for a land reform to attain economic development. These disputes and debates and the
fact that there is diversity among the landowners themselves when it comes to land
reform measures have paved the way for them to compromise. It is within this context
that the CARL was put into law.
As mentioned earlier, the CARP is so far the most comprehensive agrarian

reform program ever formulated. Unlike that of PD 27, which include only rice and
corn lands, CARP covers all private and public agricultural lands regardless of
commodity produced and tenurial status of the tiller including other lands of the
public domain suitable for agriculture.
CARP recognizes as beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program not only

farmers but all workers in the land given that they are landless and willing to cultivate
______
2
This is based on the assessment in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan 1993-1998.
9
the land. The two agencies mandated to do the tasks of land acquisition and
distribution are the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The program used variable retention
limits: seven hectares for rice and corn lands, five hectares for non-rice and non-corn
lands, and three hectares for each of the heirs, 15 years old and above, of the
landowner given they are actually cultivating or managing the land. Aside from land
acquisition and distribution, which is the very essence of CARP, it also provides for
the delivery of support services such as rural development projects, human resources
development activities and infrastructure facilities. It also ensures the tenurial security
of farmers and farm workers by giving options like leasehold arrangement, stock
distribution option, and production and profit sharing scheme. It also provides legal
assistance to beneficiaries to help resolve agrarian disputes. To effectively channel
these support services to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries, CARP adopted the
strategy of creating Agrarian Reform Communities.
The CARP has been generally able to attain its land distribution target for the
year 1987-1992. For that same period, a total of 898,420 landless tenants and farm
workers became legitimate recipients of either land titles or free patents and support
services.
Land Reform during the Ramos Administration3
The agrarian reform policies of the Ramos administration focused on

accelerating the direct land transfer and non-land transfer programs through adopting
more rational and simpler operating procedures and a fair, expeditious and
inexpensive settlement of agrarian disputes. It focused in the adoption of a fair land
valuation formula and prompt payment of just compensation to encourage landowners
to cooperate and support agrarian reform. The administration also encouraged the
development of alternative schemes of landowner compensation to motivate them to
invest in rural-based industries that have strong linkages with agriculture. It also
adopted a progressive agricultural land tax to encourage smaller landholdings among
large landowners, a land conversion tax to discourage land conversion and idle land
tax to encourage landowners to cultivate the land. These taxes were also needed to
augment the Agrarian Reform Fund aside from mobilizing both local and foreign
resources. The administration also pursued for the amendment of Section 63 of the
CARL making the ARF a revolving fund and increasing the fund to P100 Billion. It
also planned to increase the composition of the DAR’s Adjudication Board’s full-time
members from three to nine and upgrading their salaries. The budget of DAR
therefore had to be increased to cover reorganization costs. The protection of ARBs
whose lands were converted to commercial, industrial or residential use by making
them shareholders or co-investors of the industrial/commercial venture was also one
of CARP’s major agenda. Also, the CARP bureaucracy had to be motivated further
for more successful results and its partnership at the provincial level with various
government and non-government organizations, local government units, farmer-
beneficiaries, landowners, legislature, media and the academe has to be enhanced.
_______
3
This is based on the assessment in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan 1999-2004.
10
Strengthened coordination among agencies implementing CARP, the
legislature, judiciary and LGUs were also being pursued. The use of an integrated and
area-focused approach in implementing CARP through the ARCs remained a major
strategy. Lastly, the Ramos administration emphasized that the various activities of
CARP should be attuned to the modernization of agriculture and the promotion of
industrialization in the country.
The Ramos administration has set a target of 3.4 million hectares of land to be
distributed to farmer-beneficiaries in which it was able to accomplish 2.6 million
hectares or 33.3 percent of the total CARP scope of 7.8 million hectares. It has
brought the total accomplishment for land acquisition and distribution at the end of
June 1998 to 4.7 million hectares or 60 percent of the scope.
Land Reform during the Estrada Administration
The Estrada administration focused on fasttracking land acquisition and

distribution (LAD). It aimed to reduce distortions and uncertainties in land market in
the rural areas to be able to help increase farmers’ productivity and the private sector
investment as well. Another major step was the intensification of the delivery of
support services and social infrastructure to boost incomes of ARBs. It also prioritized
the improvement and protection of the tenure status of stakeholders and the promotion
of agri-industrialization in CARP areas through joint ventures, corporatives, contract
farming and other types of production and marketing arrangements. It also aimed for
the completion of land parcel mappings covered by collective Certificate of Land
Ownership Awards (CLOAs). The Estrada administration also focused on the
strengthening of the databases of the implementing agencies, i.e.. DAR and DENR on
the location of lands to cover and on the potential beneficiaries of CARP. It also
promoted the use of market-based instruments in land distribution such as progressive
agricultural land tax and direct land transfer. Lastly, the Estrada administration
pursued to accelerate the resolutions of agrarian-related cases.
The Estrada administration has promised to complete the distribution of the

CARP scope of 7.8 million hectares by 2004. From July 1998 to September 2000, the
total number of beneficiaries of CARP under the Estrada administration was 182,762.
4.2 THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM LAW: LEGAL BASIS

OF CARP
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program was a response to the people’s

clamor and expectations of a more effective land reform program that would
supposedly correct the many flaws that plagued the previous land reform programs.
Republic Act 6657, signed into law on June 10, 1988 by President Corazon
Aquino, known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (CARL), is an
act instituting a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program to promote social justice
and industrialization, providing the mechanism for its implementation, and for other
purposes.
11
The law’s major features are the following:
• It provides for the coverage of all agricultural lands regardless of crops
produced or tenurial status of the tiller;
• It recognizes as beneficiaries of the program all workers in the land given
that they are landless and willing to till the land;
• It provides for the delivery of support services to program beneficiaries;
• It provides for arrangements that ensure the tenurial security of farmers
and farmworkers such as the leasehold arrangement, stock distribution
option and production and profit sharing; and
• It creates an adjudication body that will resolve agrarian disputes.
Scope. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 covers, regardless of

tenurial arrangement and crop produced, all public and private agricultural lands as
provided in Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229, including other lands
of the public domain suitable for agriculture. Originally, the total area of this coverage
was calculated to be 10.3 million hectares. The latest CARP Scope Validation (CSV)
however, has pegged the total program area at 8,169,545 hectares. Of this total area,
54 percent (4.4 million hectares) falls under the responsibility of DAR while the
remaining 46 percent (3.8 million hectares) comprises the DENR’s jurisdiction.
The law designated that land acquisition and distribution are to be done in a
period of ten (10) years following the effectivity of the law. Phase One covers rice
and corn lands under PD 27; all idle or abandoned lands; all privately-owned lands
voluntarily offered by the landowners for land reform; all lands foreclosed by
government financial institutions; all lands acquired by the Presidential Commission
on Good Government (PCGG); and all other lands owned by the government devoted
to or suitable for agriculture (RA 6657). Phase Two covers all alienable and
disposable public agricultural lands, all arable public agricultural under agro-forest,
pasture and agricultural leases that are cultivated and planted to crops in accordance
with Section 6, Article XIII of the Constitution; all public agricultural lands which are
to be opened for new development and resettlement; and all private agricultural lands
in excess of fifty (50) hectares. Phase Three includes private agricultural landholdings
above 24 hectares up to 50 hectares; and landholdings from the retention limit up to
24 hectares.
Lands that are exempted from CARP are those with a slope of more than 18
percent; reserved lands such as forest reserves, watersheds, national parks, fish
sanctuaries, church and mosque sites, and cemeteries; and lands that are used for
national defense, education and experimental farms. The law also states that ancestral
lands inhabited and used in a culturally appropriate way by indigenous cultural
communities will be protected and therefore would not be distributed.
Retention Limit. The retention limit for rice and corn lands is seven hectares, same as
that in PD 27; and for non-rice and non-corn lands retention limit is five hectares
while the heirs of the landowner who are 15 years old and above can retain three
hectares each given they are actually tilling or managing the land. The original
homestead owners and their heirs are allowed to keep and cultivate their homestead
12
lands of up to 24 hectares while agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) can own and till
as much as three hectares.
Beneficiaries. RA 6657 includes all agricultural lessees and share tenants regardless
of crops grown as well as regular, seasonal and other farm workers, and farmers’
organizations or cooperatives. Other potential beneficiaries are agricultural graduates,
rural women, veterans and relatives of enlisted men and women, retirees of the AFP
and the Integrated National Police, and rebel returnees and surrenderees.
4.3 COMPONENTS OF CARP
4.3.1 Land Tenure Improvement
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law aims to promote social equity and
justice by restructuring landownership patterns. Through land distribution, the
government ensures that the tiller has power over his tillage, his own productivity and
economic viability.
Land Distribution
The land acquisition and distribution are the main essence of the CARP. There
are at least four government agencies mandated to participate in the land acquisition
and distribution process. These are the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR),
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Land Bank of the
Philippines (LBP), and the Land Registration Authority. The DAR is involved in land
distribution of private and government-owned lands and settlement areas. The DENR,
on the other hand, is responsible for land survey and approval of survey plans; land
distribution of public lands; and the distribution of stewardship contracts in forestry
areas. However, starting from 1993, DAR assumed the task of land survey except for
the survey of public alienable and disposable lands and integrated social forestry
areas. The Land Bank of the Philippines, on the other hand, is responsible for land
valuation and landowners’ compensation while the Land Registration Authority is for
land titling and registration.
Under RA 6657, land acquisition and distribution shall be accomplished

within a period of 10 years, commencing on June 10, 1988 and ending on June 10,
1998. However at the end of this 10-year period in June 1998, DAR performance
reports show that only 56 percent of its target of 2.7 million beneficiaries has been
accomplished so far. This figure had gone up by only a few percentage points to 63
percent as of September 2000. DENR, on the other hand, has accomplished 77 percent
or 1,273,845 farmer-beneficiaries out of the 1.7 million target beneficiaries as of July
1998 (Table 1). Appendix 1 shows the number of beneficiaries of DAR while
Appendix 2 shows the number of beneficiaries of DENR. Given all these
accomplishments in land distribution, the program’s implementation was extended for
completion in the year 2004.
13
Table 1. Accomplishments in Land Distribution
Number of Beneficiaries
As of 1998
PERCENT
AGENCY TARGET ACCOMPLISHMENT
ACCOMPLISHED
DAR 2,696,817 1,568,676 58.17
DENR 1,512,189 1,197,275 79.17
Source: DAR, Policy and Strategic Research Service
Leasehold Operation
Leasehold Operation is a non-land transfer program that protects the tenurial

status of tenant-farmers in tenanted lands. This is implemented when the tenant is
working within the landowner’s retention limit of five hectares and the CARP-
covered lands that are not yet due for distribution. In this program, the tenants are
entitled to 75 percent of the net harvest after the deduction of production expenses. As
of September 2000, the leasehold operations have benefited a total of 1,060,144
ARBs nationwide. From January to September of 2000, there were 5,742 farmers who
benefited from the scheme (Appendix 3).
Production and Profit Sharing
This is a temporary arrangement wherein corporate farms (operating under a

lease or management contract with more than P5 million gross sales per annum) are to
execute production and profit sharing plans with their farm workers. These include
corporate agricultural landowners who availed of deferment as provided under
Section II of R.A. 6657.
Stock Distribution Option
Under this scheme, qualified beneficiaries are given the right to purchase from
the landowning corporation capital stocks that are equivalent to the value of the land
devoted by the company to agricultural activities. They are also entitled to dividends,
other financial benefits and representation in either the company’s board of directors,
management or executive committee. As of December 2000, there are 14 stock
distribution proposals covering an area of 8,388 hectares that were approved by
PARC while 20 applications are still under process (Appendix 4). Appendix 5 shows
the list of the 14 corporations with approved proposals.
Commercial Farms Deferment
Under this arrangement, several agricultural lands are listed for future
acquisition and distribution. In this way, corporate landowners of newly established
commercial plantations are given enough time to recover their investments. After the
deferment period, these lands shall be subjected to immediate acquisition and
distribution.
The beneficiaries under the different components of CARP total 4,079,334 as

of 2000 (Table 2).
14
Table 2. Beneficiaries of Land Reform Program
Program Number of Beneficiaries
1.Land Transfer of DAR 1,697,566 1/

2.Land Transfer of DENR 1,273,845 2/
3.Leasehold Operations 1,098,948 3/
4.Stock Option 8,975 4/
TOTAL 4,079,334
NOTES:
1/
1972 - Sept. 2000
Source: DAR, Policy and Strategic Research Service (MIS and FOSSO-IMR Reports)
2/
This excludes 163,686 FBs prior to CARP in Integrated Social Forest areas.
Period covered: July 1987- June 2000
Source: DAR, Policy and Strategic Research Service
3/
As of Sept 2000
Source: BLAD Accomplishment Report
4/
As of December 2000
Source:Task Force on PPS,SDO, and CFD
4.3.2 Program Beneficiaries Development
Land distribution alone is not enough to improve the productivity of Agrarian

Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs). The government recognizes the need for support
services to complement land distribution such as credit facilities, technology and
infrastructure.
Agrarian Reform Communities Development
The DAR created the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs), or clusters of

barangays, as convergence areas of development efforts by all government agencies,
NGOs and other people’s organizations. It is through these clusters that support
services are being channeled to the farmer-beneficiaries for them to productively
perform their role in community development process. Farmers are organized into
teams where they undergo various organizational capability building and
strengthening activities, and trainings on ARB development. In this way, the DAR
builds the capacity of ARCs to assume the responsibility for their own development.
Moreover, to increase the income of farmer-beneficiaries in the ARCs, the DAR
establishes links between farmers’ organizations and agri-business enterprises to
facilitate access to market opportunities, production inputs, technology and credit
facilities.
The Situationer Report on ARCs showed that as of March 2000, there are
1,060 ARCs established nationwide. Within these ARCs, there are a total number of
2,596 organizations, with members totalling 223,273 that are being assisted by DAR.
As of March 2000, the average number of organization per ARC still stands at two.
15
On ARB empowering, a report for the first quarter of 2000 show that 7 percent
of the ARB population located in ARCs nationwide were trained on the different
components of ARC development.
Infrastructure Facilities
One vital way of improving the income of ARBs is by building physical and
economic infrastructures such as farm-to-market roads, irrigation systems, bridges,
and post-harvest facilities. As of the end of 1999, the number of DAR-initiated
infrastructure projects currently being managed by the ARCs and local government
units include 948 farm-to-market roads; 7,286 post-harvest facilities; 571 irrigation
systems; and 346 bridges.
Credit Facilities
To finance various agricultural and livelihood projects in the ARCs, the DAR
put up its lending windows. These are the: a) DAR-QUEDANCOR CARP Barangay
Marketing Centers (for the construction, expansion and acquisition of on-farm
warehouses with solar dryers, rice mill and other ancillary equipment and for
marketing of grains); b) the DAR-LBP Countryside Marketing Partnership Program
(for production credit and affordable ownership of pre- and post-harvest facilities); c)
DAR-KMI Peasant Development Fund (for agro-industrial development); d) Credit
Assistance Program for Program Beneficiaries Development (CAP-PBD) (for
agricultural production inputs, pre- and post-harvest facilities); e) DAR-ERAP Trust
Fund (formerly the National Livelihood Support Fund) (for livelihood micro-
projects); and f) DAR-Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (for viable non-
rice livelihood projects like processing, manufacturing, crop production).
DAR reports show that as of the first quarter of 2000 DAR-LBP Countryside
Partnership Program has extended loans worth PhP 309.222 million to 13,760 ARBs.
The CAP-PBD on the other hand has funded 158 projects with a total loan value of
PhP 102.20 million benefiting about 5,400 ARBs. The DAR-ERAP Trust Fund since
its implementation in 1997 has funded 64 projects worth PhP 450 million benefiting
28,500 ARBs.
Information Campaign
The DAR also disseminates information about CARP to the public to reach
out to a greater number of program clientele, support groups and other sectors of the
society. This is done through different symposiums, briefings, distribution of printed
materials, maintenance of bulletin boards and the use of trimedia outlets.
Networking and Linkaging
To strengthen the implementation of CARP, various consultations and

dialogues with peoples’ organizations, NGOs and other concerned sectors are
conducted. This is to foster tripartism, to resolve different operational and policy-
related problems and other issues, and to speed up their resolution. In 1999 alone, the
number of consultations has totaled 5,095 involving 78,481 PO and NGO members.
16
Resource Mobilization
The national government’s budget for CARP is limited. To finance the

complex process of support service delivery, the DAR has tapped foreign resources to
raise additional funds necessary for the complex process of support service delivery.
Projects funded by these agencies include the construction of infrastructure facilities,
institutional building and cooperative development; credit delivery; agriculture and
enterprise development; farm systems development; and the conduct of policy studies.
The DAR’s foreign partners include: the Governments of Japan, Sweden, Italy,
Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, The Federal Republic of Germany, the European
Union, and other foreign institutions such as the World Bank, UNDP, International
Fund for Agricultural Development, among others. From 1992 to March 2000, DAR
has mobilized PhP 25.33 billion which supports 30 development projects in ARCs.
4.3.3 Agrarian Justice Delivery
Agrarian Legal Assistance
Extending legal assistance during court hearings is a major support provided

by the CARP to its farmer-beneficiaries. The DAR lawyers handle three types of
cases and these are the judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial cases. Judicial cases
may be civil or criminal in nature and are filed in the regular courts. Quasi-judicial on
the other hand includes ejectment, reinstatement, termination of leasehold agreement,
falling in the jurisdiction of the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) and its
adjudicators while non-judicial cases are those arising from agrarian law
implementation and related implementing rules and regulations and personnel
discipline cases. DAR reports show that as of the first quarter of 2000, there are 1,500
judicial and 4,680 quasi-judicial cases pending nationwide.
Adjudication of Cases
Through the DARAB, the Department is vested with quasi-judicial powers to

determine and adjudicate disputes, cases, controversies and matters involving the
implementation of RA 6657 and other related issuances.
4.4 PREVIOUS ASSESSMENTS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN

REFORM PROGRAM
4.4.1 Assessment of RA 6657
In a study made by Adriano (1991) entitled “A General Assessment of the

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program”, she noted that there are several
loopholes in the legal basis of CARP that may worsen the already inequitable agrarian
structure in the country. One of these is the limited area coverage of the law where it
excludes a long list of land types that constitutes the non-reform sector. This
exclusion of such many types allows big landowners to devise different evasionary
mechanisms so as not to be included in the reform area. These landlords, for instance,
17
convert their landholdings into “non-profit” ventures since the law exempts areas used
for non-profit activities. Another flaw is that CARL endorses variable retention limit.
This however is less efficient when it is compared to a single retention limit, which is
substantially easier and less costly to implement. With a single retention limit,
evasionary mechanisms may be reduced. Moreover, Adriano mentioned that the
smaller the ceiling, the better since it means that there would be greater number of
beneficiaries and the provision of support services are more evenly distributed.
RA 6657 also stipulated provisions exempting agribusiness plantations from

land reform with the belief that there is economies-of-scale in farm productions. This
may not be true because types of farms such as plantations are inefficient users of
both scarce and abundant resources. The law also seems to promote the co-existence
of two extreme modes of production (i.e., small farms producing food and other cash
crops; and large-sized farms devoted to the production of export crops). This bi-modal
agrarian structure is also an inefficient arrangement for a country with a highly
inelastic land supply. This is because large-sized farms tend to exploit the scarce land
resource extensively and employ more scarce capital resource intensively while small
farms, in contrast, use land more intensively employing more abundant labor resource
(Adriano, 1991).
As the law prefers owner-operator type and direct administration contracts,

tenancy regulation prohibiting share tenancy was imposed. Studies show that
sharecropping arrangements help in the reduction of enforcement and transaction
costs brought about by market imperfections. Thus, regulating such will prevent
majority of the landless farm workers from improving their income/status (Adriano,
1991).
Geron (1994), in her study on the impact of CARP on the crop sector, noted
that the law’s article on non-transferability of ownership for a period of ten years and
non-enforceability (confiscation of land in case of defaults on land amortization) may
prevent the access of ARBs to formal financial credit. The implementation of CARP
resulted in the access of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) to institutional credit
but this is because the Land Bank of the Philippines’ mandate was to provide the
ARB’s credit needs with funds from the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF). Geron’s study
showed that although the program has caused the displacement of abusive informal
lenders because of the LBP’s low rates, it still was not able to integrate the
beneficiaries into the formal financial system since none of the study’s respondents
are able to borrow from other institutional sources other than LBP.
The cumbersome land valuation is another factor affecting the easy and quick
implementation of the program. Aside from this, it also is vulnerable to landowners’
evasionary tactics and causes aggravation of the government rent-seeking activities
(Adriano, 1991).
Lastly, Adriano (1991) noted that the CARL favors only a small portion of the
landowning class. These are the corporate and commercial farm owners and the rural
middle class. The CARL also tend to benefit renter-landowners so long as they
convert their tenant-based arrangements to either owner-cultivatorship or direct
administration arrangements or change the land use type from agricultural to non-
18
agricultural. While the law is intended to benefit agricultural lessees and share
tenants, their chances of getting a larger share of the reformed area will depend on
their ability to organize their sector and fight for their welfare. She also emphasized
that the main losers of the CARL are the landless rural farm workers who have neither
farms to rent nor permanent employment in plantations.
4.4.2 ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CARP
Adriano, in her study entitled “DAR, Land Reform-Related Agencies and the
CARP: Government and Alternative Approaches to Land Acquisition and
Distribution”, mentioned that several factors contributing to the poor performance of
CARP in land distribution include: a) the slow pace in land survey process; b)
backlogs in land registration; c) lack of support from landowners largely because of
the slow processing of and low payment for their land; and d) cumbersome land
acquisition and distribution process for each land type. There are also features of the
LAD that were created to discourage rent-seeking activities. These include: a)
numerous documents required in various phases; b) the difficulty in the coordination
of land-reform-related activities by various agencies; and c) the multi-layered counter-
check systems. These features however affected the speedy enforcement of land
reform causing also decentralization in the decision-making process. She mentioned
further that DAR’s sluggish performance in land acquisition and distribution was a
consequence more of the slow development in the land acquisition process than on the
distribution component. One factor causing slow acquisition is the problem of limited
funds. To address this, LAD and not non-LAD activities should be prioritized in
budgeting while personnel staff has to be streamlined and re-aligned to bring down
personnel costs.
Another way of evaluating the performance of CARP in uplifting the quality

of life of its beneficiaries is looking at its effect on their income and productivity. A
paper by Bravo et al (2000) on the current state of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries
found out that the average household income of the ARB households are low and
generally just enough to meet the minimum basic needs of the household members.
More than half of the income already comes from non-farm sources. Poverty
incidence remains high at 63 percent, even higher than the national rural poverty
incidence. She further noted that the farms of the ARBs are relatively small (less than
2 hectares) and mostly rainfed in lowland and upland areas and most of the farms
operate with limited area of mechanization and meager amount spent on material
inputs for farm operations. This is one reason why agricultural income remains to be
very low and limited (Bravo et al 2000).
A study done by Geron (1994) on the effect of CARP on the productivity of

coconut and sugar in the Negros area emphasized that the mere transfer of land
ownership and its operation in smaller parcels without the corresponding adoption of
appropriate production technology had no impact on productivity. She also stressed
the importance of sustainable credit delivery for CARP’s beneficiaries. Since money
from the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF) has lower cost allowing LBP to provide credit
to ARBs at lower rates, the program may not be able to sustain this in the future.
19
5. Impact of Agrarian Reform on Poverty
To assess the impact of agrarian reform on poverty, income-based measures of

poverty, specifically poverty incidence, poverty gap index, real per capita income are
used. In addition, non-income based measures are also examined. Changes between
1990 and 2000 in these indicators are used to determine improvements or
deterioration over time. Furthermore, differences in the indicators between agrarian
reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and non-agrarian reform beneficiaries (non-ARBs) are
examined to determine whether ARBs are better off or worse off than non-ARBs.
5.1 Findings from the CARP-IA Survey
Description of the Sample
There are 1,854 households in the panel data. There were respondents from
all regions except the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Forty
percent of the respondents were taken from the Luzon area, another 40% from the
Visayas area and 20% from the Mindanao area. Most of the respondents come from
the Western Visayas Region – 15%, and Cagayan Valley – 14.3%. Eastern Visayas
and Southern Tagalog are each represented by 10% of the total sample respondents.
Central Mindanao and CAR are the least represented regions in the sample with only
1.8% of the respondents coming from each region.
Description of ARBs
Location
The variable v12 corresponding to ARB status in the 2000 “Comprehensive

Agrarian Reform Program Impact Assessment” survey was used to determine who
among the respondents are agrarian reform beneficiaries. There were only 1,834
households in the survey that were examined for their ARB status. Twenty
respondents were deleted from the sample due to data encoding error of variable v12.
There are 853 ARB households out of the 1,834 sample households,
representing about 47% of the total households surveyed. In terms of the proportion of
ARB households to the number of sample households in the region, Central Luzon is
found to have the largest proportion of ARB households while CAR and Central
Visayas (23.5%) have the least. Of the 853 ARB households, 22% are from Cagayan
Valley and 12% each are from Central Luzon and Western Visayas. The least number
of ARBs are found in CARAGA (2.1%), Northern Mindanao (1.5%), Central
Mindanao (1.2%) and CAR (0.9%) (Table 3).
20
Table 3. Distribution of ARB and Non-ARB Households by Geographical Location
Distribution Proportion
Region
Total NARB ARB NARB ARB
Philippines 100.0 100.0 100.0 53.5 46.5

CAR 1.9 2.7 0.9 76.5 23.5
Ilocos 5.5 4.8 6.3 46.5 53.5
Cagayan Valley 14.4 8.3 21.5 30.7 69.3
Central Luzon 7.6 3.5 12.3 24.5 75.5
Southern Tagalog 10.7 12.7 8.4 63.5 36.5
Bicol 8.1 7.0 9.3 46.6 53.4
Western Visayas 14.8 17.0 12.3 61.4 38.6
Central Visayas 5.6 8.0 2.8 76.5 23.5
Eastern Visayas 11.6 14.6 8.1 67.5 32.5
Western Mindanao 5.8 6.6 4.9 60.7 39.3
Northern Mindanao 1.9 2.2 1.5 62.9 37.1
Southern Mindanao 8.1 8.0 8.3 52.3 47.7
Central Mindanao 1.9 2.4 1.2 70.6 29.4
CARAGA 2.2 2.2 2.1 55.0 45.0
Household Size
For both ARBs and non-ARBs, the average household size is 5 including the
head of the family, his spouse, children and other members within the household.
Size of Landholding
On the average, households own about 3.7 hectares of land. ARBs own larger
lands than non-ARBs with an average landholding of 4.45 hectares against only 2.86
hectares for non-ARBs (Table 4).
Fifty two percent of the ARBs own 2 hectares or less. About one-fourth of the
ARBs own less than 1 hectare, while another one-fourth own more than 1 hectare but
less than 2 hectares. On the other hand, 78 percent of the non-ARBs own less than 2
hectares. More than half of non-ARBs own less than 1 hectare.
21
Table 4. Size of Landholding
Total 1834 100.0

Less than 1 ha 836 45.6
1 to less than 2 has 374 20.4
7 to 10 has 34 1.9
More than 10 has 44 2.4
NARB 981 100.0
7 to 10 has 22 2.2
ARB 853 100.0
7 to 10 has 12 1.4
Number of Years being ARB
The average number of years that ARB households have benefited from
agrarian reform is 17 years.
Table 5. Length in Years Benefited from Agrarian Reform Program
Percent
Length in Years Number Distribution
ARB Households 695 100.0
At Most 5 94 13.5
6-10 120 17.3
11-15 158 22.7
16-20 92 13.2
21-25 82 11.8
26-30 106 15.3
31-35 14 2.0
More than 35 29 4.2
Table 5 shows the number of years that the households have been installed as
ARBs for those households who responded to this question. In 2000, 13.5% of the
ARBs have been beneficiaries for at most 5 years, while 17.3% have been ARBs for 6
22
to 10 years. About 23% have been ARBs for 11-15 years. 46.5% have benefited from
earlier land reforms and have been ARBs for more than 15 years.
Average Income by Source
The average income of ARBs is 23% higher than the average income of non-
ARBs. The average household income for the year 1990 are P49,594 for ARBs and
P39,142 for non-ARBs. Average household incomes for the year 2000 are P98,653
for ARBs and P76,156 for non-ARBs (Table 6a).
A large part of total income is sourced from farming. However, the share of
farm income has declined from 1990 to 2000. Still, more than half of total income of
ARBs comes from farming. In contrast, more than half of total income of non-ARBs
comes from non-farm sources.
In 1990, almost 71% of the total income of all farmers is sourced from
farming. The average farm income of all farmers is P32,008 (Table 6b). The average
farm income of the ARBs is P36,246 which is 72.1% of their total income. On the
other hand, the average farm income of non-ARBs is P28,213 which is almost 69% of
their total income.
In 2000, the average farm income of ARB households is P67,761. More than
half (61.5%) of their total income is sourced from the farm. In comparison, the
average farm income of non-ARBs is P46,508, which is 45% of its total income.
The average farm income of ARB households has risen by 87% from 1990 to
2000. In contrast, the average farm income of non-ARBs increased by 65% during
the same period.
In 1990, average off-farm income for ARBs is P7,555, which is relatively

higher than the average non-ARB income of P6,442. For both ARBs and non-ARBs,
share of off-farm income is minimal. This is true as well for the average off-farm
income for ARBs and Non-ARBs in 2000(1.7% and 2.4%, respectively). Average
off-farm income for ARBs is P6,878 which is slightly higher than the average non-
ARB income of P6,370.
In 1990, the average non-farm income of ARB households is P28,780 while

average non-ARB income is P22,348. Non-farm incomes of ARB and non-ARB
households are 24.5% and 26.6% of their respective total income.
In 2000, the average non-farm income of ARB households is P49,419, which

is almost double as much as in 1990 while average non-ARB non-farm income is
P51,057, which is more than twice in 1990. Share of non-farm income of 52.7% to
total for non-ARBs is higher than the non-farm income share of 36.7% to total income
for ARBs.
23
In addition, major sources of income of ARBs and non-ARBS in 1990 are
from their farms. In 2000, major source of income of ARBs is from their farms while
non-ARBs get their income mainly from non-farm sources.
The incidence of households being agrarian reform beneficiaries is positively

linearly related to their income (point-biserial correlation coefficient =0.08 with p-
value=0.0004). This indicates that agrarian reform beneficiaries are more likely to
have higher annual incomes than non-ARBs.
Table 6a. Average Income of Households by Source in 2000
Source of Income Average Income Share (%)

Total 86,608 100.0
NARB 76,156 100.0
ARB 98,653 100.0
Farm 57,407 53.8
NARB 46,508 45.1
ARB 67,761 61.5
Off Farm 6,591 2.0
NARB 6,370 2.4
ARB 6,878 1.7
Non-Farm 50,324 44.2
NARB 51,057 52.7
ARB 49,419 36.7
Table 6b. Average Income of Households by Source in 1990
Source of Income Average Income Share (%)

Total 43,997 100.0
NARB 39,142 100.0
ARB 49,594 100.0
Farm 32,008 70.6
NARB 28,213 68.9
ARB 36,246 72.1
Off Farm 6,898 3.9
NARB 6,442 4.5
ARB 7,555 3.4
Non-Farm 25,181 25.5
NARB 22,348 26.6
ARB 28,780 24.5
The average nominal income of households among ARB households in 1990

is 43,594, higher than the average income of non ARBs with PhP39,142 (Table 7).
Average nominal incomes of both ARB and non-ARB households are much higher in
2000. Average income of ARB households is PhP98,653 while average income of
non-ARB households is PhP76,156, lower than the average income of ARBs.
24
Table 7. Average Income of Households in Current Prices
Status 1990 2000

Total 43,997 86,608
NARB 39,142 76,156
ARB 49,594 98,653
In Table 8, the average real income of ARB households based on 1994 prices
is PhP73,488 in 1990 while the average real income of non-ARBs is lower at
PhP57,802. In year 2000, the average real income of ARB households decreased to
PhP64,626. The average real income of non-ARB households decreased as well to
PhP50,258.
Table 8. Average Real Income in 1994 Prices
Status 1990 2000

Total 65,093 56,938
NARB 57,802 50,258
ARB 73,488 64,626
The average real per capita income based in 1994 prices of ARB households is
PhP12,905 in the year 1990 (Table 9). Average real per capita income of non-ARB
households is lower at PhP12,254. In year 2000, both average real per capita incomes
of ARB and non-ARB households are lower than in 1990. Average real per capita
income of non-ARBs is PhP11,312 while average real per capita income of ARBs is
PhP14,485.
Table 9. Average Real Per Capita Income in 1994 Prices
Status 1990 2000

Total 12,562 12,786
NARB 12,254 11,312
ARB 12,905 14,485
Average Expenditure by Commodity Group
Average total expenditure of households is larger for ARBs by 8.5% than for
non-ARBs (Table 10). Compared to non-ARBs, ARBs spend more on food, health
and clothing, but less on education. More than 60% of total expenditure is spent on
food, with ARBs allocating a slightly greater proportion than non-ARBs.
The average total expenditure of households in 1990 is P24,471 (in current

prices). It went up to P56,805 in 2000. The ARBs have an annual expenditure of
P26,507 in 1990, slightly higher than the P22,700 average household expenditures of
non-ARBs. Total expenditure of ARBs in 2000 is P59, 290, more than double their
total expenditures in 1990. For non-ARBs, the average household expenditure in 2000
is slightly lower at P54,645.
25
In 1990, the families have spent an average of P12,864 for their food alone.
This is more than half (52.6%) of their total expenditures. A small portion of their
total expenditures are allotted for their children’s education which is 11.2% while
only 6.8% and 4.6% are spent for their clothing and health care, respectively.
Comparatively, the families have spent almost P 36,000 on the average for their food
alone in year 2000. This is 63.2% of the household total expenditures while only
11.8% of their total expenditures are allotted for their children’s education while only
7.7% are spent for their health care. Expenditure on clothing is minimal at 4.3%.
Of the total expenditure of the ARB families in 1990, 52.1% is spent for food,
that is P13,798, while 53.1% is spent by the non-ARB families on food, that is
P12,052. On the other hand, households who benefited from the agrarian reform have
an average expenditure on food of P37,704 in 2000 that is, 63.6% of their total
expenditures, while non-agrarian reform beneficiaries spent P34,282 on their food
which is 62.7% of their total expenditures.
A small portion of the ARB and non-ARB families’ total expenditures in 1990
is allotted to their children’s education. ARB families spent an average of P3,103
which is only 11.7% of their total expenditures while non-ARB families spent only
10.6% of their total expenditures that is, P2,403. In year 2000, ARBs allotted only
11.2% (P6,623) while non-ARBs allotted 12.3%, slightly higher than ARBs.
In 1990, a small portion of the total expenditures of ARBs is allotted to their

clothing and health care, 4.2% and 8.5%, respectively, while non-ARBs have allotted
only 4.3% and 7% on their clothing and health care.
In 2000, 11.2% of ARBs total expenditures are allotted to their children’s

education, 8.5% on health, and 4.2% on clothing. Non-ARBs have spent 12.3% on
education, 7% on health and 4.3% on clothing.
Table 10. Average Expenditure by Commodity Group in 2000
Commodity Group Average Expenditure Share (%)

Total 56,805 100.0
NARB 54,645 100.0
ARB 59,290 100.0
Food 35,874 63.2
NARB 34,282 62.7
ARB 37,704 63.6
Education 6,685 11.8
NARB 6,739 12.3
ARB 6,623 11.2
Clothing 2,428 4.3
NARB 2,365 4.3
ARB 2,501 4.2
Health 4,370 7.7
NARB 3,811 7.0
ARB 5,014 8.5
26
The 1990 expenditure of households is positively associated with the status of
households being ARBs or not with a correlation coefficient of 0.08. Though
relatively small, the association is significant with probability of 0.0008 at 5% level of
significance. In 2000, expenditure of households is positively associated with the
status of households being ARBs or non-ARBs with correlation coefficient of 0.05
and significance probability of 0.03 that is significant at the 5% level of significance.
This implies that ARBs tend to have higher household expenditures than non-ARBs.
Poverty Profile of ARB Households
To determine the proportion of poor households, regional rural income

thresholds for the year 2000 were obtained using 2000 regional inflation rates to
project the 1997 official rural income threshold estimates from NSCB (Table 11).
Poor households are defined to be households whose annual per capita income falls
below the required annual per capita income to provide for the minimum basic food
and non-food requirements.
Table 11. Poverty Thresholds, 1990 and 2000
REGION 1990 2000

CAR 7,308 14,789
Region 1 7,012 14,167
Region 2 5,963 11,616
Region 3 7,172 12,763
Region 4 7,000 14,417
Region 5 5,361 12,561
Region 6 5,461 12,665
Region 7 4,502 10,510
Region 8 4,652 10,068
Region 9 5,454 11,256
Region 10 5,680 12,217
Region 11 5,905 11,648
Region 12 6,314 12,393
ARMM . 13,978
Using this criterion, there are 930 poor households in the sample for 2000.
This is about 51% of the 1,820 households considered for analysis. Of the total poor
households, 41% are agrarian reform beneficiaries. The incidence of poverty among
ARBs is lower as compared to non-ARBs. About 45.1% among the ARBs are poor
while non-ARBs poor are higher at 56.3% (Table 12).
Furthermore, the incidence of poverty is prevalent in Northern Mindanao

where 82% of all households covered were found to be poor. Poverty incidence is
relatively high in Western Mindanao. Among the households in Northern Mindanao,
almost 73% are poor. On the other hand, Central Luzon has the lowest poverty
incidence with 31.4%, followed by Central Mindanao with 35.3%.
27
Among the ARBs, Northern Mindanao has the highest poverty incidence
where 91.7% of the households living in the region are poor followed by Western
Visayas with almost 66.7% poor households. Central Luzon has the lowest poverty
incidence among the ARBs both with 30.8%.
For non-ARBs, poverty incidence is highest in Northern Mindanao (77.3%)

while Central Luzon and Central Mindanao still have the lowest poverty incidence
both with 33.3%.
Table 12. Poverty Incidence by Location
Total NARB ARB

Region Poor Non-poor Poor Non-poor Poor Non-poor
Dist Prop Dist Prop Dist Prop Dist Prop Dist Prop Dist Prop
100.0 51.1 100.0 48.9 100.0 56.3 100.0 43.7 100.0 45.1 100.0 54.9
CAR 1.5 42.4 2.1 57.6 1.6 36.0 3.8 64.0 1.3 62.5 0.6 37.5
Ilocos 6.7 61.4 4.4 38.6 5.5 63.8 4.0 36.2 8.4 59.3 4.7 40.7
Cagayan Valley 10.1 36.2 18.7 63.8 5.5 37.0 12.0 63.0 16.8 35.8 24.8 64.2
Central Luzon 4.6 31.4 10.6 68.6 2.0 33.3 5.2 66.7 8.4 30.8 15.5 69.2
Southern Tagalog 11.1 53.1 10.2 46.9 12.0 53.7 13.4 46.3 9.7 52.1 7.3 47.9
Bicol 9.7 61.2 6.4 38.8 8.2 65.2 5.6 34.8 11.8 57.7 7.1 42.3
Western Visayas 15.8 54.2 13.9 45.8 19.3 63.9 14.1 36.1 10.8 39.0 13.8 61.0
Central Visayas 6.0 54.9 5.2 45.1 8.6 60.3 7.3 39.7 2.4 37.5 3.2 62.5
Eastern Viasyas 13.7 59.9 9.6 40.1 16.2 62.2 12.7 37.8 10.0 55.1 6.7 44.9
Western Mindanao 8.3 72.6 3.3 27.4 8.9 76.6 3.5 23.4 7.3 66.7 3.0 33.3
Northern Mindanao 3.0 82.4 0.7 17.6 3.1 77.3 1.2 22.7 2.9 91.7 0.2 8.3
Southern Mindanao 8.3 51.7 8.1 48.3 7.7 53.8 8.5 46.2 9.2 49.3 7.8 50.7
Central Mindanao 1.3 35.3 2.5 64.7 1.5 33.3 3.8 66.7 1.0 40.0 1.3 60.0
CARAGA 4.5 100.0 5.2 100.0 3.9 100.0
There has been a decline in the poverty incidence among ARB households
from 47.6% in 1990 to 45.2% in 2000 (Table 13). In contrast, there has been an
increase in the proportion of poor households among non-ARBs from 55.1% in 1990
to 56.4% in 2000. These changes in the poverty incidence has led to a wider
difference between the poverty incidence of the two groups from 7.5 percentage
points in 1990 to 11.2 percentage points in 2000.
Table 13. Poverty Incidence in 1990 and 2000
1990 2000
ARB 47.6 45.2
Non-ARB 55.1 56.4
Poverty gap is the difference between the poverty threshold and the average
income of the poor. The poverty gap index is the ratio of the poverty gap to the
poverty threshold. This provides a measure of the depth of poverty. Table 14 shows
28
that the poor ARBs are less poor than the poor non-ARBs, as indicated by their lower
poverty gap index. Over time, there has been little change in the poverty gap index.
Table 14. Poverty Gap Index in 1990 and 2000
1990 2000
ARBs .4922 .4923
Non-ARBs .5250 .5234
Movements in and out of Poverty
Of the 838 ARBs, 399 were poor in 1990, of which 248 (62%) of them
remained poor in 2000 while 151 (38%) became non-poor (Table 15). Of the 439
ARBs who were non-poor in 1990, 131 (30%) became poor and 308 (70%) remained
non-poor.
On the other hand, of the 934 non-ARBs, 515 families were poor and 419
families were non-poor in 1990. Of the 515 poor non-ARBs in 1990, 362 (70%)
remained poor in 2000 and 153 (30%) became non-poor in 2000. Of the 419 non-
poor families in 1990, 165 (39%) families remained poor and 254 (61%) families
became poor in 2000.
A greater proportion of ARBs who were poor in 1990 became non-poor in

2000 compared to non-ARBs (38% vs. 30%). Moreover, a smaller proportion of
ARBs who were non-poor in 1990 became poor in 2000 relative to non-ARBs (30%
vs. 39%). These suggest that being an ARB somehow improves ones chances of
moving out of poverty if one is poor, and help one who is non-poor from falling into
poverty.
Table 15. Poverty Status in 1990 & 2000
1990
2000 Total
Poor Non-Poor
Total 914 858 1,772
NARB 515 419 934
ARB 399 139 838
Poor 610 296 906
NARB 362 165 527
ARB 248 131 379
Non-Poor 304 562 866
NARB 153 254 407
ARB 151 308 459
Households’ Perception of their Poverty Status
In spite of being beneficiaries of the Agrarian Reform Program, many of ARB

families still felt that they are poor. About 44% of the ARBs felt that they are either
29
poor or very poor. This, however, is lower than the corresponding 57% for non-
ARBs.
Among the poor (classified as such based on income) agrarian reform

beneficiaries, 52.8% perceived that they are poor or very poor while 63% of the
classified poor non-ARBs perceived that they are poor or very poor.
Almost 35% of the classified poor ARB families felt they have fair condition
and 12.7% perceived that they have good or very good conditions. Among the poor
non-ARBs, 28.6% perceived they have fair condition while only 8.46% felt they have
good or very good conditions.
Among the classified non-poor non-ARB households, 39.4% perceived that

they have fair condition while 39.9% still felt that they are poor or very poor. In
addition, only 20.7% perceived that their conditions are either good or very good.
Among the classified non-poor ARB households, 28.6% still felt that they are poor or
very poor, lower than the classified non-poor non-ARB families. On the other hand,
around 71.4% of the non-poor families not benefiting from agrarian reform perceived
that they have fair, good or very good conditions (Table 16).
While there seems to be a strong correlation between income-based measure

of poverty and household’s perception of poverty, Table 16 suggests that there are
factors other than income that determines a household’s perception of being poor or
non-poor.
Table 16. Households’ Perception of their Socio-Economic

Conditions, 2000
Poor Non-poor Total

Status Perception
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percemt
NARB Total 707 100.0 251 100.0 958 100.0
Very Poor 57 8.1 14 5.6 71 7.4
Poor 388 54.9 86 34.3 474 49.5
Fair 202 28.6 99 39.4 301 31.4
Good 54 7.6 50 19.9 104 10.9
Very Good 6 0.8 2 0.8 8 0.8
ARB Total 523 100.0 311 100.0 834 100.0
Very Poor 38 7.3 5 1.6 43 5.2
Poor 238 45.5 84 27.0 322 38.6
Fair 181 34.6 146 46.9 327 39.2
Good 62 11.9 72 23.2 134 16.1
Very Good 4 0.8 4 1.3 8 1.0
Asked how being an agrarian reform beneficiary has changed their economic
conditions, 57% said that their economic conditions have improved while 37% said
that their conditions remained unchanged. Only 6% said that their conditions
worsened since they became ARBs (Table 17).
30
About half of those classified as poor said that they are better off because of
agrarian reform, while almost 70% of the non-poor said they are better off.
Table 17. Household’s Economic Condition, 2000
Poor Nonpoor Total

Status
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
ARB Total 505 100.0 303 100.0 808 100.0
Better 256 50.7 208 68.6 464 57.4
Same 213 42.2 86 28.4 299 37.0
Worse 36 7.1 9 3.0 45 5.6
Educational Attainment of the Household Head and the Members
In 2000, heads of ARB households have commonly finished only primary

education. The same is true for heads of non-ARB households.
Among the total household members in year 2000, majority of the household
members have no formal schooling. This comprises about 43% of the total
households. Only 8.2% are graduates of elementary and about 11.5% are high school
graduates. The proportion of college graduates among the household members is
minimal at 6.9% (Table 18).
Members of ARB households tend to have higher educational attainment than

members of non-ARB households. Among the ARB households, almost 40% of all
the household members have not attended school. However, this is lower by about 6
percentage points than among the non-ARB household members. Almost 46% among
non-ARB household members have not attended school.
The proportion of household members who finished elementary is 9.4%

among ARBs, slightly higher than non-ARB household members with 7.2%. The
proportion of ARB household members who finished high school is higher than the
proportion of non-ARB household members. Around 14% of ARB household
members have graduated from high school while 9.5% among non-ARB household
members are high school graduates.
With regards to the proportion of members who graduated from college, there
is only a slight difference between the ARBs and non-ARBs. Among the ARB
household members, 7% have graduated from college. In comparison, 6.8% among
the non-ARB household members are college graduates.
31
Table 18. Educational Attainment of Household Members, 2000
Total 18674 100.0

None 7943 42.5
Elem Undergraduate 2430 13.0
Elem Graduate 1537 8.2
HS Undergraduate 1841 9.9
HS Graduate 2144 11.5
Vocational Undergraduate 82 0.4
Vocational Graduate 428 2.3
College Undergraduate 957 5.1
College Graduate 1280 6.9
Post Graduate 32 0.2
NARB 9956 100.0
None 4557 45.8
HS Graduate 946 9.5
ARB 8718 100.0
None 3386 38.8
HS Graduate 1198 13.7
With regards to the average educational attainment of household heads, non-

poor household heads have higher educational attainment than poor household heads.
On the average, household heads belonging to the poor families are elementary
graduates while those belonging to the non-poor families are high school graduates.
Both the poor ARBs and non-ARBs are mostly elementary graduates. On the other
hand, both the non-poor agrarian reform beneficiaries and non-agrarian reform
beneficiaries are commonly high school graduates (Table 19).
32
Table 19. Average Educational Attainment of Household Heads
Status Poor Non-poor
Total Elementary Graduate High School Undergraduate

NARB Elementary Graduate High School Undergraduate
ARB Elementary Graduate High School Undergraduate
Among the total households members whose age are at least 12 years old,
83.1% are at least elementary graduates in 2000, higher than the 73.2% in 1990.
Among the members of ARB households who are 12 years old and above, 74.8%
were at least elementary graduates in 1990. This is 10 percentage points lower in
2000 where 83% were at least elementary graduates. On the other hand, among the
members of non-ARB families belonging to the same age group in 1990, 71.4% were
at least elementary graduates, slightly lower than the proportion of ARB members of
the same year. In year 2000, almost 82% of non-ARB children were at least
elementary graduates, much higher than in 1990 (Table 20).
Table 20. Proportion of at Least Elementary Graduates Among 12Years & Above
1990 2000
Status Percent Percent
Number Distribution Number Distribution
NARB 1034 71.41 1304 81.76
ARB 1234 74.79 1132 84.73
Total 2268 73.21 2436 83.11
Among the household members who are at least 16 years old, almost 44%
were at least high school graduates in 1990 while 56% were at least high school
graduates in 2000. The proportion of ARB household members who are at least high
school graduates in 1990 is almost 45%, much lower than in 2000 with 57.6%.
Among non-ARB children, about 43% were at least high school graduates in 1990
while 54.5% were at least high school graduates in 2000. In both years, the
proportion of ARB children who were at least elementary graduates is slightly higher
than non-ARB children (Table 21).
Table 21. Proportion of at Least High School Graduates Among 16 Years & Above
1990 2000
Status Percent Percent
Number Distribution Number Distribution
NARB 350 42.68 580 54.46
ARB 327 44.98 520 57.59
Total 448 43.94 1100 55.89
33
The data show that members of ARB households tend to have higher
educational attainment than members of non-ARB households, suggesting that ARB
households are able and did, in fact, invest more on human capital.
Employment Status of the Household Head
In 2000, 7.4% of the household heads are unemployed. Unemployment rate is

higher for non-ARBs (8.1%) than for ARBs (5.5%).
ARB heads for both poor and nonpoor households are most commonly
employed, with 93% poor heads employed and 96% nonpoor heads employed (Table
22).
Heads for both poor and nonpoor non-ARB households are also commonly
employed. About 92% of heads are employed for both poor and nonpoor non-ARB
households.
Table 22. Employment Status of Poor and Nonpoor Household Heads
Number Distribution Proportion

Status
Poor Nonpoor Poor Nonpoor Poor Nonpoor
Total 1232 602 100.0 100.0 67.2 32.8
Unemployed 92 34 7.5 5.6 73.0 27.0
Employed 1140 568 92.5 94.4 66.7 33.3
NARB 708 273 100.0 100.0 72.2 27.8
Unemployed 57 22 8.1 8.1 72.2 27.8
Employed 651 251 91.9 91.9 72.2 27.8
ARB 524 329 100.0 100.0 61.4 38.6
Unemployed 35 12 6.7 3.6 74.5 25.5
Employed 489 317 93.3 96.4 60.7 39.3
About three fourths of the households have both head and spouse employed.
The proportion of households with head and spouse both employed is 78% for
nonpoor households and 75% for poor households (Table 23).
Among ARBs, the proportion of households whose head and spouse are both
employed is around 78% for nonpoor households which is slightly higher than the
73% for poor households.
Moreover, two-thirds of the households whose heads and spouses are

employed are poor.
34
Table 23. Employment Status of Household Heads and their Spouses
Number Distribution Proportion

Status
Poor Nonpoor Poor Nonpoor Poor Nonpoor
Total 1232 602 100.0 100.0 67.2 32.8
Head and Spouse Unemployed 36 17 2.9 2.8 67.9 32.1
Head or Spouse Employed 270 116 21.9 19.3 69.9 30.1
Head and Spouse Employed 926 469 75.2 77.9 66.4 33.6
NARB 708 273 100.0 100.0 72.2 27.8
ARB 524 329 100.0 100.0 61.4 38.6
Access to Potable Water
ARBs have greater access to potable water than non-ARBs (77.7% vs. 76.1%).
The proportion of households who are agrarian reform beneficiaries with access to
potable water in 2000 is 77.7%, slightly higher than the proportion of ARB families
(74.6%) with access to potable water in 1990. On the other hand, the proportion of
households who are not agrarian reform beneficiaries with access to potable water is
76% in 2000. This is 2 percentage points higher than the proportion of non-ARB
families (74%) who have access to potable water in 1990 (Table 24).
Table 24. Access to Potable Water, 2000
Non-Potable Potable
Status
Number % Number %
Total 424 23.2 1407 76.8
NARB 234 23.9 745 76.1
ARB 190 22.3 662 77.7
Access to Sanitary Toilet
ARBs have greater access to sanitary toilet facilities than non-ARBs (75.7%
vs, 72.1%). The proportion of households who are ARBs with access to sanitary toilet
is 75%, much higher than the 1990 proportion of ARB families with access to sanitary
toilet at 64.2%. The proportion of non-ARB households (72%) with access to
sanitary toilet in 2000 is 12 percentage points higher than in year 1990, which is 60%
(Table 25).
35
Table 25. Access to Sanitary Toilet
Non-Sanitary Sanitary
Status
Number % Number %
Total 482 26.3 1350 73.7
NARB 273 27.9 707 72.1
ARB 209 24.5 643 75.5
Ownership of Assets and House
Ownership of assets is an indicator of the household’s economic well-being.

In particular, certain assets are highly correlated with poverty status. For instance,
Reyes (1998) finds that ownership of refrigerator is very strongly correlated with
being non-poor.
In 1990, the proportion of ARB families who own TV is 27.2%, higher than
the proportion of non-ARB families who own TV (Table 26).
The proportion of households who are agrarian reform beneficiaries who own
TV is 53.7% in 2000. This is almost twice the proportion of ARBs who own TV in
1990. The proportion of households who are not agrarian reform beneficiaries who
own TV is 49.4%, more than double the proportion of non-ARBs who own TV in
1990.
Table 26. Ownership of Television in 2000
Without TV with TV
Status
Number Percent Number Percent
Total 891 48.6 943 51.4
NARB 496 50.6 485 49.4
ARB 395 46.3 458 53.7
In 1990, the proportion of households, whether ARBs or not, who own

refrigerator are fairly small. The proportion of ARB households who own a
refrigerator is 10.9% while the proportion of non-ARB households who own a
refrigerator is only 9.4% (Table 27).
In year 2000, the proportion of households who are agrarian reform

beneficiaries that own a refrigerator is 27%, much higher than in 1990, while the
proportion of households who are not agrarian reform beneficiaries who own
refrigerator is 25.5%, almost triple the proportion of non ARBs who owns ref in 1990.
36
Table 27. Ownership of Refrigerator in 2000
without Refrigerator with Refrigerator

Status
Number Percent Number Percent
Total 1,354 73.8 480 26.2
NARB 731 74.5 250 25.5
ARB 623 73.0 230 27.0
In 1990, majority of the ARB households had used wood and light materials
for their homes. The proportions of ARB families who used wood and light materials
are 35.8% and 37.6% respectively. Only 18.2% among the ARB families have used
concrete materials. Among the non-ARBs, 41.6% have used light materials and
36.5% have used wood materials. Only 15.8% on non-ARBs have used concrete
materials.
In 2000, more than half (52.4%) of ARB households have concrete type of
walling, almost three times as much in 1990. Only 23.7% among ARB households
have wood type of walling and 21.7% have used light materials. On the other hand,
43.1% among non-ARB households have concrete type of walling which is less than
the proportion of ARBs and 32.3% have used wood materials while 23.3% have used
light materials (Table 28).
Table 28. Type of Housing Materials in 2000
Concrete Wood Light Others

Status
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Total 870 47.5 518 28.3 413 22.5 32 1.7

NARB 423 43.2 316 32.2 228 23.3 13 1.3
ARB 447 52.4 202 23.7 185 21.7 19 2.2
Crops Planted
The most common seasonal crops planted by the farmers for the year 2000 are
rice and corn. During the first cropping season, more than half (56.8%) of the total
farmers who plant rice are Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries. A large proportion of the
ARBs (79.2%) are planting rice while only 15.5% of them are planting corn. Among
the non-agrarian reform beneficiaries, 76.7% are planting rice while 17.2% are
planting corn (Table 29).
37
Table 29. Crops Planted (June - November 1999)
NARB ARB Total

Crops Planted
Number Col % Row% Number Col % Row% Number
Total Crops 772 100.0 44.0 983 100.0 56.0 1755

Rice 592 76.7 43.2 779 79.2 56.8 1371
Corn 133 17.2 46.7 152 15.5 53.3 285
Coconut 1 0.1 100.0 0.0 0.0 1
Sugarcane 2 0.3 40.0 3 0.3 60.0 5
Banana 1 0.1 33.3 2 0.2 66.7 3
Coffee 1 0.1 100.0 0.0 0.0 1
Pineapple 0.0 0.0 1 0.1 100.0 1
Peanut 6 0.8 42.9 8 0.8 57.1 14
Onion 1 0.1 20.0 4 0.4 80.0 5
Vegetables 25 3.2 50.0 25 2.5 50.0 50
Fruit trees 0.0 0.0 1 0.1 100.0 1
Root Crops 10 1.3 58.8 7 0.7 41.2 17
Abaca 0.0 0.0 1 0.1 100.0 1
During the second cropping season, 58.1% of the total farmers who plant rice
are ARBs. Among the ARBs, 76.4% of them are planting rice, slightly higher than
the proportion (73.9%) of non-ARBs who plant rice. The proportion of ARBs who
are planting corn is only 17.1% while the proportion of non-ARBs that plant corn is
slightly higher at almost 20% (Table 30).
Table 30. Crops Planted (December 1999 - March 2000)
NARB ARB Total

Crops Planted
Total Crops 593 100.0 42.8 794 100.0 57.2 1387

Rice 438 73.9 41.9 607 76.4 58.1 1045
Corn 118 19.9 46.5 136 17.1 53.5 254
Sugarcane 0.0 0.0 3 0.4 100.0 3
Peanut 5 0.8 33.3 10 1.3 66.7 15
Onion 2 0.3 50.0 2 0.3 50.0 4
Vegetables 23 3.9 44.2 29 3.7 55.8 52
Root Crops 7 1.2 50.0 7 0.9 50.0 14
The most common perennial crop among the farmers is coconut. Among the
total farmers who are planting coconut, 51.1% are non-agrarian reform beneficiaries
while 48.9% are agrarian reform beneficiaries. Among the ARB farmers, 52.6% are
planting coconut, slightly lower than the proportion of non-ARBs planting coconut
(59%) (Table 31).
38
Banana is also a common perennial crop among farmers. Among the total
farmers who are planting banana, the proportion of non-ARBs (51.4%) is slightly
higher than the proportion of ARBs (48.6%). However, only 14.4% among the ARB
farmers are planting this crop while only 16.3% of non-ARBs plant banana.
Table 31. Perennial Crops Planted
NARB ARB Total

Crops Planted
Total Crops 466 100.0 48.2 500 100.0 51.8 966

Rice 17 3.6 37.8 28 5.6 62.2 45
Corn 13 2.8 48.1 14 2.8 51.9 27
Coconut 275 59.0 51.1 263 52.6 48.9 538
Sugarcane 11 2.4 34.4 21 4.2 65.6 32
Banana 76 16.3 51.4 72 14.4 48.6 148
Coffee 13 2.8 52.0 12 2.4 48.0 25
Peanut 3 0.6 30.0 7 1.4 70.0 10
Citrus 1 0.2 25.0 3 0.6 75.0 4
Onion 0.0 0.0 2 0.4 100.0 2
Tobacco 1 0.2 25.0 3 0.6 75.0 4
Vegetables 13 2.8 48.1 14 2.8 51.9 27
Fruit trees 21 4.5 35.0 39 7.8 65.0 60
Root Crops 19 4.1 48.7 20 4.0 51.3 39
Abaca 3 0.6 60.0 2 0.4 40.0 5
In general, among the farmers who are planting seasonal crops, the proportion
of ARBs is slightly higher than the proportion of non-ARBs. On the other hand,
among those farmers who plant perennial crops, the proportion of non-ARBs is
slightly higher than the proportion of ARBs.
Farm Cultural Practices
Farmers commonly use chemical fertilizers to yield good and abundant crops.
Almost three-fourths (74.1%) of farmers have adopted the use of such modern
technology in improving yield. Of the total farmers engaged in the practice of using
chemical fertilizers, more than half (55.9%) are agrarian reform beneficiaries. Also,
among ARB farmers, almost 80% have adopted the use of chemical fertilizers while
almost 70% of Non-ARB farmers are engaged in this practice (Table 32).
There are still more farmers engaged in the traditional way of manual plowing
where about 66% of farmers still practice animal-drawn plowing. Among these
traditional practitioners, 57.6% are ARB farmers. Slightly more than 70% of the
39
ARB farmers and 58.4% of the non-ARB farmers still practice animal-drawn
plowing.
The use of chemicals to control pests and diseases on crops has become a
popular practice among farmers. Almost 60% of farmers use chemicals to protect
their crops from being damaged. Such practice is more common to ARB farmers;
57% of all farmers who use chemicals are ARBs. In addition, among the ARB
farmers, 65% are engaged in such practice. The proportion of pesticide practitioners
is slightly lower among non-ARB farmers. Less than half (47.5%) of non-ARB
farmers are engaged in such practice.
The use of power tillers has also become a common practice among farmers
where about 55% already make use of such modern technology. About 59% of these
farmers are ARBs. Among ARBs, 62% use power tillers in farming while only 48%
among Non-ARBs use power tillers.
Moreover, the use of certified seeds is becoming a popular practice among

farmers. Near half of the farmers (45%) use certified seeds in farming. This
proportion is slightly higher than the 43% farmers who use traditional varieties in
farming. Still, more ARB farmers engage in these farming techniques than non-
ARBs.
Table 32. Farm Cultural Practices
Number Proportion Distribution4

Farm Cultural Practices
NARB ARB Total NARB ARB Total NARB ARB
Animal-Drawn Plot 596 810 1406 58.4 71.8 65.5 42.4 57.6
Power Tillers 484 700 1184 47.5 62.1 55.1 40.9 59.1
IPM 105 159 264 10.3 14.1 12.3 39.8 60.2
Four-Wheel Tractors 64 60 124 6.3 5.3 5.8 51.6 48.4
Chem. Pest & Disease Control 552 728 1280 54.1 64.6 59.6 43.1 56.9
Contour Plowing 15 17 32 1.5 1.5 1.5 46.9 53.1
Slash & Burn 54 42 96 5.3 3.7 4.5 56.3 43.8
Hedgerows 11 6 17 1.1 0.5 0.8 64.7 35.3
Crop Rotation 60 54 114 5.9 4.8 5.3 52.6 47.4
Mulching 18 22 40 1.8 2.0 1.9 45.0 55.0
HYVs 195 213 408 19.1 18.9 19.0 47.8 52.2
Azolla 6 10 16 0.6 0.9 0.7 37.5 62.5
Certified Seeds 393 569 962 38.5 50.5 44.8 40.9 59.1
Composting 79 105 184 7.7 9.3 8.6 42.9 57.1
Terracing 39 24 63 3.8 2.1 2.9 61.9 38.1
Chemical Fertilizer 705 892 1597 69.0 79.1 74.3 44.1 55.9
Cover Cropping 21 13 34 2.1 1.2 1.6 61.8 38.2
Traditional Varieties 417 487 904 41.9 43.6 42.8 46.1 53.9
To summarize, the use of machineries in farming is not a common practice

among farmers. More farmers do manual plowing. The use of chemicals, such as
fertilizers to increase yield and pesticides to protect their crops, has already been
adopted by many farmers.
40
Among the 12 farming techniques enumerated in the survey, techniques not
commonly practiced by farmers are azolla, hedgerows, contour plowing and cover
cropping.
Land Productivity
Measure of land productivity is derived in this study by dividing the peso

value of farm output over the total farm size. The average land productivity among
the beneficiaries of agrarian reform is more than twice the average land productivity
of non agrarian reform beneficiaries. The mean land productivity of ARBs is
P20,429.87 per hectare while mean land productivity of non-ARBs is P8,032.36 per
hectare (Table 33). The higher land productivity of ARBs could partly explain the
observed lower poverty incidence among ARBs.
Table 33. Land Productivity (PhP/Ha)
Status Average
NARB 8,032.36
ARB 20,429.87
5. 2 Models for Determining Poverty Status of Households
A logit model is estimated to determine significant factors affecting the

poverty status of households in the year 2000. Among the variables considered to
explain the poverty status are length in years that households have benefited from the
agrarian reform program, whether they have received government assistance or not,
household size, per capita land size within their ownership, educational attainment of
the household head, poverty status in 1990, whether the community that they belong
to is an agrarian reform community or not, and whether the land they till is irrigated
or not.
The probability of a household being nonpoor is represented by the model:
e 0.26 + 0.11 ARBYR −0.32V 22 +0.21 HHEDUC +0.22V 16 A+1.08 IRRI +0.54 CREDIT
P(nonpoor ) =
1 + e 0.26 +0.11 ARBYR −0.32V 22 + 0.21 HHEDUC + 0.22V 16 A+1.08 IRRI + 0.54 CREDIT
The model including these 8 characteristics aimed at explaining the poverty

status of households is significant at the 5% level of significance with significance
probability of 0.0001.
The Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was performed to test for
model adequacy. With a significance probability of 0.2308 of the model, there is no
sufficient evidence to say that the model is not adequate. Thus, household
characteristics considered for inclusion in the model adequately describe the tendency
of households of being poor or nonpoor.
41
Chi-square test on the individual effects of each characteristic on poverty
status was performed on the model. Effects of the characteristics were all found to be
significant at the 5% level, except V16a (whether agrarian reform community or not)
which is significant at the 10% level.
Table 34 shows parameter estimates using the maximum likelihood estimation

technique and statistics on the individual variables in the model.
Table 34. Parameter Estimates of Logit Model
Parameter Standard Wald Chi- Pr > Chi- Standardized

Variable DF Estimate Error Square Square Estimate Odds Ratio Variable Label
INTERCPT 1 0.2644 0.1540 2.9480 0.0860 . . Intercept

ARBYR 1 0.1117 0.0267 17.5275 0.0001 0.134076 1.118 Length of years being ARB
V22 1 -0.3169 0.0256 153.2131 0.0001 -0.56433 0.728 Household Size
HHEDUC 1 0.2039 0.0346 34.7661 0.0001 0.192948 1.226 Educational Attainment of HH Head
V16A 1 0.2231 0.1330 2.8170 0.0933 0.051955 1.250 Agrarian Reform Community
IRRI 1 1.0836 0.1226 78.0672 0.0001 0.280109 2.955 Irrigated Land
CREDIT 1 0.5433 0.1134 22.9498 0.0001 0.148538 1.722 Access to Credit
Interpretation
ARBYR (Length of time being ARB). The length of years that ARB
households have benefited from the agrarian reform program of the government
increases their chances of being nonpoor by as much as 0.11 points, i.e., the
likelihood of a household being nonpoor increases by as much units when the
household has been an ARB for a longer period of time. Furthermore, each 5-year
increase in the length of time that ARB households have benefited from CARP,
renders an increase in probability of being nonpoor by approximately 0.014 to 0.022
units at an exponential but almost linear trend (see figure below). The largest increase
in probability of being nonpoor is exhibited by the shift from 0 to 1 year with a 0.022
unit increase in probability. This implies that the advantages of being an ARB can
already be felt by households even at an early period of 1 year. The increase in
probability slowly dampens at each 5-year addition in the length of time that ARB
households have benefited from agrarian reform. Minimal increase in probability of
being nonpoor can be observed when the household has been a beneficiary of CARP
for more than 35 years.
This suggests that a household’s chances of being non-poor increases the

longer the household has been an ARB. This could be because being an ARB allows
the household to accumulate savings and physical capital as manifested by higher
incomes (relative to non-ARBs) and ownership of consumer durables and other assets.
Also, ARB households tend to invest more on human capital as shown by higher
educational attainment of its members compared to non-ARB household members.
These could have positive effects on the earning capacity of the household and
consequently on household income.
42
0.8
Probability of Being Nonpoor

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Years Being ARB
V22 (Household Size). Poor households are characterized by a large family

size. Households tend to be poorer as the number of its family members increases.
The likelihood that a household with a large family size of being nonpoor is 0.73,
which is 27 points lower than a household with a smaller family size.
HHEDUC (Educational Attainment of the Household Head). A head of

the family who has attained a high level of education is likely to belong to a nonpoor
household. The likelihood of a household, whose head has a high level of educational
attainment, being nonpoor is around 22 points higher than of households with heads
having a low level of educational attainment.
V16A (Agrarian Reform Community). A household living in a community

that is an agrarian reform community is more likely to be nonpoor with odds ratio of
1.25. The probability that a household is nonpoor increases by 0.22 points when the
household lives in an agrarian reform community.
IRRI (Irrigated Land). The type of land that farmers till helps determine the
poverty status of the households. The probability of being nonpoor for farmers
(households) increases by 1.08 points when they till irrigated land. Farmers who till
irrigated lands are thrice (2.96 times) more likely to be nonpoor than those who till
non-irrigated lands.
CREDIT (Credit Profile). Households who have access to credit are more
likely to be nonpoor. The odds of a household being nonpoor is .72 points higher
when the household has access to credit. A household is said to have access to credit
if it was able to avail of credit, or did not avail of credit because it had no need to.
To compare the probability of being non-poor of ARBs and non-ARBs, the

probability is computed using the estimated equation for a family of six and with the
household head not having any schooling. Figure 1 shows that the probability of
being non-poor is higher for ARBs than for non-ARBs. Given the same input,
irrigation, credit and being in an agrarian reform community, ARBs consistently have
higher chances of being non-poor.
43
Figure 1
Comparison between ARBs and Non-ARBs with a Family Size of 6
Probability (Nonpoor)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
w/ irrigated land w/ irrigated land & w/ irrigated land,
access to credit access to credit & in
ARC
among ARBs among Non-ARBs
To show the effect of credit, irrigation and being in an ARC on ARBs, the
probability of being non-poor of an ARB with or without these inputs are computed
using the estimated equation. Figure 2 shows the probability of being non-poor for
households who are ARBS, with particular inputs. The probability of being non-poor
for an ARB who has no credit, no irrigation and is not in an ARC is the lowest. When
he is provided irrigation, his probability of being non-poor increases by 24 percent on
the average. Furthermore, when he is give credit, his probability of being non-poor
increases by 15 percent. Finally, when his community becomes an ARC, then his
probability of being non-poor increases further by 5 percent.
Figure 2
ARB Households by Length in Years being Beneficiaries
Probability (Nonpoor)
0.7
0.5
0.3
0.1
1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-60
Length (in Years)
inputs: irrigated land, access to credit, ARC inputs: irrigated land & access to credit
input: irrigated land no input
The results indicate that being an ARB tend to increase one’s chances of being non-
poor. Moreover, we find that providing the necessary inputs like credit, irrigation and
being in an agrarian reform community tend to further increase one’s chances of
being non-poor.
44
Model Classification
A probability level of 50% has been chosen as a cut-off level at which

households will be classified as nonpoor based on the characteristics they possess.
The 50% cut-off point was chosen since the model is after the percentage of
observations correctly classified into their corresponding poverty status.
There are 541 out of the 810 actual nonpoor households that were classified as
nonpoor based on model simulations. This is around 66.8% correctly classified
nonpoor households (Table 35).
Moreover, 598 out of 853 actual poor households that were classified as poor
based on model simulations. This is about 70% correctly classified poor households.
Around 32% of actual poor households are falsely classified as nonpoor

households by the model while 31% actual nonpoor households are falsely classified
as poor households.
On the overall, the model including the abovementioned household

characteristics correctly classifies as much as 68.5% of the observations or households
into their corresponding poverty status for the year 2000. The results also suggest that
other variables, in addition to those included in the present model, may help explain
further the poverty status of households.
Table 35. Actual vs. Simulated
Simulated
Actual
Nonpoor Poor
Nonpoor 541 269
Poor 255 598
Regression Models
Two regression models have been constructed with nominal income of

households for the year 2000 as the dependent variable. The explanatory variables
considered for the first model were household characteristics such as whether they are
agrarian reform beneficiaries, government service beneficiaries, whether they live in
an agrarian reform community, educational attainment of the household head, and if
they till irrigated lands. The second model used the same variables but used the years
that households have been benefiting from the agrarian reform program in place of
whether they are agrarian reform beneficiaries or not.
For model 1, the positive signs of the parameter estimates indicate an increase
in income of households if they are of the desired characteristics (Table 36). This
implies that households gain higher income and are thus better off when they are
beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program, have received or are receiving assistance
from the government, and they live in an agrarian reform community. In addition,
45
income also increases as household heads become more educated. Farmers who till
irrigated lands also earn higher income. All household characteristics have
probability values less 10% indicating that each characteristic has significant
contribution to income of households for the year 2000.
Table 36. Parameter Estimates of Model 1
Dependent Variable: PCINC00
Analysis of Variance
Sum of Mean
Source DF Squares Square F Value Prob>F
Model 5 127087118944 25417423789 46.477 0.0001

Error 1812 990944397079 546878806.34
C Total 1817 1.1180315E12
Root MSE 23385.44005 R-square 0.1137

Dep Mean 19493.45344 Adj R-sq 0.1112
C.V. 119.96561
Parameter Estimates
Parameter Standard T for H0: Variable

Variable DF Estimate Error Parameter=0 Prob > |T| Label
INTERCEP 1 17059 1472.8923209 11.582 0.0001 Intercept

ARB00 1 3980.867795 1135.2634824 3.507 0.0005 Agrarian Reform Beneficiary
V74A 1 4060.534104 1197.8038315 3.390 0.0007 Government Service Beneficiary
PCHAS1 1 389.508560 216.67791213 1.798 0.0724 Per Capita Hectarage of Land
V22 1 -1807.032438 175.00200967 -10.326 0.0001 Household Size
HHEDUC 1 3197.044396 326.88258325 9.780 0.0001 Educational Attainment of HH Head
For model 2 as well, the positive signs of the parameter estimates indicate an
increase in income (Table 37). Households who have received assistance from the
government and live in an agrarian reform community gain higher income.
Furthermore, income is also higher if farmers till irrigated lands. Income is higher for
households with heads who have attained a high level of education. Moreover,
households who have benefited from the agrarian reform program earn higher income.
All the variables used in the model have significant contribution to income at 10%
level of significance.
46
Table 37. Parameter Estimates of Model 2
Model: MODEL1
Dependent Variable: PCINC00
Analysis of Variance
Sum of Mean
Source DF Squares Square F Value Prob>F
Model 5 131310820683 26262164137 46.938 0.0001

Error 1656 926550783584 559511342.74
C Total 1661 1.0578616E12
Root MSE 23653.99211 R-square 0.1241

Dep Mean 19590.98496 Adj R-sq 0.1215
C.V. 120.73917
Parameter Estimates
Parameter Standard T for H0: Variable

Variable DF Estimate Error Parameter=0 Prob > |T| Label
INTERCEP 1 16569 1518.2359275 10.913 0.0001 Intercept

ARBYR 1 1374.799381 274.40119667 5.010 0.0001 Years being ARB
V74A 1 4097.074269 1265.3736526 3.238 0.0012 Government Service Beneficiary
PCHAS1 1 389.362664 218.94081127 1.778 0.0755 Per Capita Hectarage of Land
V22 1 -1771.712412 180.91398116 -9.793 0.0001 Household Size
HHEDUC 1 3267.116864 342.25628230 9.546 0.0001 Educational Attainment of HH Head
47
6. Impact of Shocks on Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries
While the APIS is not designed to look at CARP, it contains a few questions
that may provide some indications of how ARBs cope with the economic crisis in
1997-1998 brought about the Asian financial crisis and the El Nino. The huge capital
outflow in some of the East Asia countries and the ensuing depreciation of the
regional currencies caused economies, to contract and unemployment to soar. The
Philippines was one of the those affected by the financial crisis. Consequently, the
industry and services sectors in the Philippines were heavily affected. On the other
hand, the drought induced by the El Nino adversely affected the agriculture sector of
the country.
The ARBs are defined as those who have acquired the agricultural land which
they own through the CARP’s land distribution program. Non-ARBs are those who
own agricultural land but did not acquire this through CARP.
Coping with the Crisis
The Asian financial crisis that hit the country has caused a downturn in the
Philippine economy. The negative impact brought about by the crisis has been felt
down to the household level. Increasing prices of food and other basic commodities,
loss of jobs and reduced incomes were among the problems that households needed to
cope up with.
Both non-ARBs and ARBs have felt the increasing price of food and other
basic commodities with 92% of non-ARBs and 89% ARBs saying that they have felt
the increase.
The El Nino crisis has been felt more by ARB households. Around 84% of
them claim that the crisis has affected them financially. A lower 79% of non-ARB
households say that they have felt the effect of El Nino.
The problem of loss of job within the country and outside due to retrenchment
were felt more by non-ARB households.
Reduction in wages was both felt by ARBs and non-ARBs (Table 38).
Table 38. Proportion of Families affected by Problems caused by the Financial Crisis
Proportion of Families affected by: ARB NARB
Increasing Price of Food and Other Basic Commodities 88.6 91.7

Loss of Job (Within the Country) 13.4 14.6
Loss of Job (due to retrenchment) of the migrant worker/overseas worker of the
family 2.6 3.9
Reduced Wages 12.0 12.2
Drought or El Nino 83.6 78.8
48
In order to cope with the crises that had struck their families, many households
have resorted to changing their eating patterns. Almost half (46.9%) of ARB
households have altered their eating pattern while 43% of non-ARBs have resorted to
such alternative (Table 39).
Moreover, members of their households have also worked overtime to raise

the income of the family. Around 31% non-ARBs and 27% ARBs have engaged in
such means of coping up.
A larger proportion of ARB households (9.3%) have pulled their children out
of school compared to non-ARBs (5.9%). Moreover, a larger proportion of ARBs
(10.4%) have also migrated to cities and other countries.
ARB households have benefited more from assistance coming from the
government with 16% of them have been aided by the government while only 9% of
non-ARBs received government assistance. A larger proportion of non-ARB
households received assistance from their friends and relatives, while only 11.7% of
ARBS received assistance from friends and relatives.
Table 39. Coping Strategies of ARB and Non-ARB Households
Proportion of Families who: ARB NARB
Changed Eating Pattern 46.9 43.0

Taken the Children Out of School 9.3 5.9
Household Members Migrated to the City or Other Countries 10.4 6.8
Received Assistance from Friends/Relatives Locally/Abroad 11.7 17.2
Received Assistance from the Government 15.7 8.8
Increased Working Hours 27.2 31.1
The findings from the 1998 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey show that
agrarian reform beneficiaries are vulnerable to shocks. Having access to land is not
enough to minimize consumption and income risks to agrarian reform households.
Moreover, some of the coping strategies employed by households may have long-term
impact on the their human capital.
49
7. Concluding Remarks
The results show that agrarian reform has had a positive impact on farmer-
incidence between 1990 and 2000. Compared to non-ARBs, ARBs tend to have
higher incomes and lower poverty incidence. They also tend to fare better in terms of
the other indicators of well-being. ARB households have higher access to safe water,
and sanitation facilities. Members of ARB households tend to have higher
educational attainment than members of non-ARB households.
Complementary inputs are necessary to maximize the benefits from agrarian

reform. Irrigation, credit and government services tend to promote higher incomes.
Moreover, agrarian reform communities tend to increase the chances of a farmer-
beneficiary to be non-poor.
Given the results of this study, it is important that the agrarian reform program
be completed as soon as possible. Moreover, agrarian reform communities should be
expanded to benefit not just ARBs but non-ARBs as well. Infrastructure support
should also be extended to farming communities. Credit and extension services by
government agencies should also be made accessible to farmers.
The study also highlighted the vulnerability of farmers to shocks, particularly

weather-related shocks. Owning land is not sufficient to minimize risks. While
higher incomes from diversified sources and higher savings are effective towards
minimizing risks, there is also a need for some safety nets, particularly for the very
poor. These safety nets would ensure that those hit by shocks need not resort to
coping mechanisms that would have long term negative impact on their human capital
as well as their productive capacity.
50
Bibliography
Adriano, L.S. August 1991. A General Assessment of the Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Program. Philippine Institute for Development Studies Working Paper
Series No. 91-13.
Bravo, M.R., A. Pacificador,Jr., B. Pantoja and R. Bello. February 2000. Current State
of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs): Its Implications to the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). UP Los Baños.
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). DAR Performance Reports, 1997,1999,2000.
______. Brochure on R.A. 6657, DAR.1997.
______. Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) Situationer Report (As of March

2000), Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD),
DAR
Geron, M.P.S. August 1994. The Impact of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Program (CARP) on the Crop Sector. Philippine Institute for Development
Studies Discussion Paper Series No. 94-15.
Gono, C. People’s Campaign for Agrarian Reform (AR now!).
Quizon, A., R. Ravenera and N. Marquez (ANGOC, Philippines). “How Much Land
Does A Person Need?” Arnet Reports – Regional Report and Overview on
Agrarian reform and Rural Development, Rome, February 1998.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Medium-Term Philippine

Development Plan, 1978-1987.
________. Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan 1987-1992.
______. Updated Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan 1996-1998
Reyes, Celia M. “Institutionalizing a Poverty Monitoring System in the Philippines”,

Paper Presented During the "Third MIMAP Annual Meeting" in Kathmandu,
Nepal on November 2-6, 1998.
51

Impact of Agrarian Reform On Poverty: Reyes, Celia M

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Impact of Agrarian Reform On Poverty: Reyes, Celia M

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Impact of Agrarian Reform On Poverty: Reyes, Celia M

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reyes, Celia M.

PIDS Discussion Paper Series, No. 2002-02

Provided in Cooperation with:

This Version is available at:

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use:

Impact of Agrarian Reform

Service through policy research

The PIDS Discussion Paper Series

Complementary inputs are necessary to maximize the benefits from agrarian

1. Background and Objectives of the Study 1

2. The Scope and Content of the Study 1

3. Methodology and Data Sources 2

3.1 Data Sources 2

3.2 Method of analysis 2

3.3 Estimation Models 4

4. The Agrarian Reform Programs in the Philippines 6

4.1 Earlier Agrarian Reform Programs 6

4.2 The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law 11

4.3 Components of CARP 13

4.4 Previous Assessments of CARP 17

5. Impact of CARP on Poverty 20

5.1 Findings from the CARP-IA Survey 20

5.2 Models for Determining Poverty Status of Households 41

6. Impact of Shocks on Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries 47

Table 1. Accomplishments in Land Distribution: Number

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has as its primary

After twelve years of program implementation, it is now timely to undertake a

2. The Scope and Content of the Study

The study will undertake the following:

c. Give policy recommendations on how CARP can be made more effective in

3.1 Data Sources

Policy and program pronouncements as contained in official documents (such

3.2 Method of analysis

Key economic and socio-demographic characteristics were picked up from the

To assess the impact of CARP on households, income-based as well as non-

Regression analysis was used to determine whether being an ARB is a

Limited dependent variable models (logit) was also employed to determine

1998 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey

The APIS contains data on the socio-economic characteristics (such as

The following variables were obtained from the APIS dataset:

3.3 Estimation Models

In this formulation, β ' xi = E ( y i / x i )

Prob ( yi = 1) = Prob (ui > − β ' xi )

Prob ( y i = 1) = Prob (u i > − β ' xi )

The explanatory variables to be used in the models include the following:

Multiple regression to determine per capita real income level in 2000

4.1 Earlier Agrarian Reform Programs

The “Homesteading Program”, also by the American administration,

Land Reform during the Marcos Administration 1

• Leasehold Operation. The targeted date for the completion of the

• Land Transfer. The full documentation of land transfer and issuance of

• Land Consolidation. The target for land consolidation was 54,000

Assessment on the agrarian reform program under the Marcos administration

Land reform during the Aquino Administration2

The predecessor of CARP was the Accelerated Land Reform Program

As mentioned earlier, the CARP is so far the most comprehensive agrarian

CARP recognizes as beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program not only

Land Reform during the Ramos Administration3