Corn Production Project in Two Public Land Areas in Capiz, Philippines

The reason why the Bukluran ng Progresibong Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (BPMP)-Capiz or

Unity of Progressive Rural Poor of the Philippines would like to submit this unsolicited
proposal is to avail whatever opportunity offered by the Department of Agriculture as far
as corn production is concerned as well as used these funds to cope up with powerlessness,
natural calamities, as a requirement for processing of title on public lands to legitimate
farmers.
Barangay Ondoy in Ivisan, Capiz Ondoy is situated at an elevation at these coordinates is
estimated at 70.1 meters or 230.0 feet above mean sea level. With more than 2,000 in
population in the 2015 Census, Ondoy is home to some 100 hectares of government land
occupied by members of BPMP. Vast tracts of land, mostly hilly have been the subject of
illegal titling by privileged individuals but they have been disqualified by DENR. Majority
of the area been cultivated by local residents numbering about fifty (50) but its productivity
could not be sustained due to financial constraints and uncertainty of the land status. It has
already been surveyed and being applied for title by the locals themselves. At present the
BPMP members are readying the area for planting this May or June. And once the area is
planted, it will be applied for title at the office of DENR.

Sitio Banta-aw, Cogon is in Panitan, Capiz. Its population is more than a thousand and
part of 3,789 barangay population. It is located adjacent to Barangay Rizal and Barangay
Bailan of Pontevedra, Capiz and home to large areas of land belonging to the Uygen’s and
Deslate’s and with more than twenty (20) hectares of abandoned government lots ready for
titling and cultivation. Its hilly portions are claimed by the Capiz State University in
Bailan, Pontevdra, Capiz, the Uygen’s and the Deslate’s.

BPMP was organized there as a community-based organization of farmers and

workers of the sitio with tie-ups to the Dumilig family who have been residing in the area
for more than 60 years already as shown by tax declaration and other documents.
Again such vacant lots will be surveyed later and once corn will be planted, it will be
applied with the DENR.
This sad plight of the farmer-beneficiaries is coupled with imminent incidence of
poverty as shown by the fact that families in Barangay Cogon and Barangay Ondoy are
within striking distance of the food and poverty threshold set by the National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB) in 2012 which says that a Filipino family of five needs P5,458
to meet basic food requirements every month (food thresholds) and P7,821 to stay above
the poverty threshold.
In Ondoy and Cogon, however, a majority of the families earn an average of P3,000
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a month with seasonal daily wage of 150-200 per day plus subsistence farm for
consumption just enough to pay debts with interests and to spend on higher costs of
production inputs.

The food threshold is the minimum income required by an individual to meet his or
her basic food needs and satisfy the nutritional requirements set by the Food and Nutrition
Research Institute (FNRI), while remaining economically and socially productive.The food
threshold helps measure food poverty or "subsistence," which may also be described as
extreme poverty.

The planned corn production in Ondoy and Cogon is being envisioned by the
members and farmers to support their needs and increase their income from subsistence
level of PHP 36,000.00 per year to PHP 60,000.00 of income annually per member
household and provide employment for the members of the family who are residing in the
area and cope up with disaster and poverty.

As start-up project, this farming endeavor will focus on rural industry development
on specific products such as high-breed corn. This will be enhanced later by a parallel
livestock growing, rooting for poultry, carabao and swine as most feasible.

Also integrated in this project is the procurement of farm machineries such as

vertical dryer, picker, combine harvester, sheller.

Beneficiaries are the members of BPMP numbering one hundred (100) in 2 areas
mentioned.

Project Duration

The planned overall project’s duration is just four months, starting May or June this year
This timeframe will cover one (1) production cycle in two areas.

Continuity of the project will be ensured as similar efforts will be expanded duplicated in
other areas within and outside the barangay after 3 years. By that time BPMP will be
engaging in a medium to large scale production involving a plantation type farm.
Proposed Start Date

June 2019
Proposed Finish Date

August 2019
Affected Area Chosen /Geographical Region

The target area for corn production will cover an initial total area of forty (40)
hectares –twenty (20) hectares of land in Cogon and another twenty (20) hectares in
Barangay Ondoy. It is hoped that these areas will be joined in by other members of BMPM
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with available land for production use and will expand to a total of one-hundred (100)
hectares in three (3) years-time. Within the defined areas, the project will assist small and
medium-scale farmers who are members of BPMP to organize themselves and to improve
their access to and benefit from corn farming.

Objectives

1. Increase income of beneficiaries by PHP 60,000 per year and return of

funds.

2. Provide jobs among household members and other farm workers

3. Adopt the integrated farming system for food security among the
beneficiaries.

4. Conducts skills training and seminar on staff development, disaster

preparedness, new farming technoques among members and later among residents.

5. Formulate strategies to mitigate the severe effect of climate change and

calamities through Integrated Farming System.

6. To reduce the dependence of farmers for most of the inputs like seeds
and plant protection material by sourcing local resources thereby reducing
the cost of cultivation.
Planned Activities
The main project activities will include:
 provision of 2 water pumps each area, farm tools, machineries and
equipment;
 joint activities for corn farming awareness thru education and training;
 building capacity in economic management (i.e. book keeping, stock
management), technical management (operators) and organizational
management;
 disaster awareness and preparedness and relief efforts during calamities;
 linking and networking with government agencies, experts, marketing
outlets and other funding groups
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Project Expected Outputs

At the end of the project, the following outputs are expected:

2 self-managed, economically viable and sustainable rings are established, providing corn
farming services to the members and other farmers, networked and linked with suppliers
and relevant technical service providers;

at least 100 households have directly improved their access to equipment and an additional
100 households are benefiting from services for mechanized farm operations;

at least one season used for timely harvesting of products;

improved farming techniques and increased quality product output;

skilled staff both in organizational and farm management and disaster preparedness;

at least 100 persons have received training in the management of the organization and its
components;

Corn production offers a means to address food self-reliance, rural development, nature
conservation and a way of planting the lands as requirement for titling. The common idea is
the sustainable use of bio-diversity, in terms of contributions to agriculture - people’s
consciousness towards healthy food, ecology and pollution free environment through
conventional farming.

BPMP members are not new in the field of agriculture, particularly in corn
production. This project will also pave the way to legally processing land ownership
to the tillers themselves.

Bukluran ng Progresibong Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (BPMP)

c/o Agnes Degones, Timpas, Panitan, Capiz/+639081178906/esegaya@yahoo.com

Edgardo Edwin Segaya

BPMP SEC Registration: 9520-06016308

BPMP: Brief Profile

The Bukluran ng Progresibong Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (BPMP) or Unity of Progressive

Rural Poor of the Philippines is a national organization of the small farmers, farmworkers
and small fisher-folks for the advancement of their welfare and interests. It was nationally
organized in 1997. It had its 3rd congress in 2007 and forthcoming Fourth (4th) Congress
this year 2019.
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BPMP maintains mass base in the following provinces in the country: Iloilo, Capiz,
Antique, Guimaras, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Tarlac, Ilocos Sur, Bohol, Negros Occidental,
Lanao Norte, Bukidnon, Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Batabgas and Compostela
Valley.

The central issues and concerns that confront BPMP is the widespread poverty among the
rural folks and the general backwardness of the Philippine agriculture brought about the
persistence of landed monopoly, very low wages, high cost of farm inputs such as seeds and
fertilizer and very low prices of farm products because of monopoly in trade of trading
cartels, lack of capital among small producers, among others.

This is further compounded by the onslaught of globalization which primarily affects

agriculture. And here comes calamity too which added its toll on the already impoverished
workers.
BPMP, therefore, believes that this backwardness and poverty can only be resolved if these
long-standing problems which stand in the way of progress and social justice are
thoroughly and fundamentally resolved through rural poor unity, education and
government support.

It is also around these issues that BPMP draws its life—in educating, organizing and
mobilization the masses of rural poor—land issue, wage struggle, demand for support
services, environment protection, globalization and other labor and agriculture-related
policy issues.

The urgent issues that currently confront BPMP is the issue of Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP). The position of BPMP is for the program to be extended and the
budget for support services to beneficiaries substantially increased.

Other issues, actions and campaigns, except for globalization are generally
regionalized/localized like the land struggles in Iloilo, Capiz, Nueva Ecija, Bohol, Bukidnon,
etc; the tobacco levy issue in Ilocos, wage agricultural wage increase struggle in Iloilo,
among others.

To date, BPMP is involved in rice trading and palay procurement program in coordination
with the National Food Authority (NFA) and has been doing this for the past ten (10) years
already.