Vol. XXII, No. 161 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
THE AGRARIAN Reform department said yesterday that it hopes to generate 39,839 more jobs this year through its support services for the agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Job generation will occur in various locally funded and foreign-assisted projects in agrarian reform communities, Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman said in a statement.
Projects that will generate the additional jobs include the locally-funded Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project Phase 3 worth P421.602 million, the Agrarian Reform Communities Project Phase 2 worth some P992.790 million, and some 374 farm-to-market roads.
"We are working with the local government in tapping the local residents — agrarian reform beneficiaries and out-of-school youth will be prioritized for hiring," Mr. Pangandaman said.
Meanwhile, ongoing infrastructure projects that have so far hired 32,592 workers include 63 locally funded farm-to-market roads and 67 irrigation projects and 138 foreign-funded programs under the P108.792-million Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives Resource Management project, the P383.941-million Mindanao Sustainable Settlement Area Development project and the P1.195-billion Agrarian Reform Communities Development project-phase 2.
In a recent interview, Mr. Pangandaman said the department could provide some P15 million from its savings last year to generate jobs in poor areas like the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
"We are backing [the emergency employment program] to help the farmers sustain their economic needs, especially now that our country is facing economic difficulties," said Mr. Pangandaman.
To date, the department has acquired and distributed 7.2 million hectares of land to farmers. It targets to distribute an additional 130,000 hectares until the end of the land reform law’s six-month extension this June 30.
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