Figures culled from a study conducted by Prof. P. U. Gordoncillo and C. B. Quicoy of the College of Economics and Management of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB) and presented in a recent conference at the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that in 2006, poverty incidence in rural areas was 32.9 percent, much higher than 30 percent in 2003.

Class-wise, 44 percent of farmers are poor while 49 percent of fisherfolk are below the poverty threshold.

More than 20 years after the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the situation has not changed but, in fact, has worsened.

On paper, millions of farmers had received their Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) but up to 70 percent of peasants in Southern Luzon still do not own the land they till, according to figures derived by a study conducted by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).

The death of Rogelio Salva while staying at a protest camp in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) main office in Quezon City shows to what extent farmers would go to secure land.

Salva, 61, was one of 68 farmers aching to be installed at Hacienda Bacan in Isabela, Negros Occidental, in spite of the fact that he had secured a CLOA over a parcel of land in the property that was offered by the Arroyo family to CARP under the voluntary offer to sell (VOS) scheme in 2001.

The Arroyos have since made an about-face and are now fighting tooth and nail to retain the property.

However, mere possession of land is no guarantee that it can be made productive, unlike in Vietnam which broke up huge landholdings and guaranteed a 20 percent return to rice farmers.

In fact, agriculture and fisheries also showed a declining share in economic performance, with the share of GDP sagging from 20.91 percent in 1997 to only 18.01 percent in 2009.

It was only in 2000 and 2002 when agriculture and fisheries showed modest gains, with 2.87 percent growth in 2000 and 2.15 percent in 2002.

From 2003 until last year, agriculture and fisheries showed negative growth rates, with the average negative growth rate at 1.21 percent annually.

Industry, which was also declining at an average of 0.70 percent annually, actually gained 2.83 percent in 2001, 0.13 percent in 2008 and 0.356 percent last year in terms of its GDP contribution.

Its share of GDP on the average was 33.98 percent from 1997 until last year.

In contrast, it was the service sector that maintained a better performance, and has a share of 46.39 percent of GDP.

Its only negative growth was registered in 2001 at 1.47 percent.

Curiously, these economic data coincide with the feverish campaign to distribute large estates to landless farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which was succeeded last year by the CARP Extension with Reform (CARPER) Law.

Farm workers are generally male, aged between 33.36 years to 48.90 years. Most are married but majority of them only attended elementary school.

They are landless and are not expected to scale the social ladder within their lifetimes in spite of CARPER.

After more than 20 years of CARP and a year of CARPER, the per capita income of rice farmers is P5,059 when the poverty threshold requires P16,111.

For corn, the per capita income is P5,961, much less than the poverty threshold of P13,487.

The least per capita income is among sugarcane workers who only secure P3,626, a mile removed from the poverty threshold of P14,316.

Official statistics showed that fishermen are even worse off since 49 percent of them are living below the threshold while 44 percent of farmers wallow in squalor.

Marvyn Benaning, Manila Bulletin