FAO and DAR delegates in discussions at the workshop-launch of the technical cooperation programme to support the "Kumustasaka"initiative.

FAO, in partnership with the Philippine Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), has launched a technical cooperation project that aims to improve the government agency's Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) database and information system in support of its "Kumustasaka" programme.

Titled "Technical Support on the Enhancement of the Existing Information System for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in the Philippines", the project was officially launched at an event held on 21 September at the DAR Main Building in Quezon City.
Specifically, the project's objective is to "develop a readily available, timely and reliable information system of ARBs for monitoring their socio-economic status and support services provided, as well as to generate ARB profiles that will serve as basis in formulating more responsive policies, interventions, and future actions related to agrarian reform". The FAO technical support project will run for 15 months, from September 2023 to December 2024.

"Kumustasaka" is a DAR initiative that endeavors to determine the current state of the country’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) that began about 50 years ago by validating the existing ARB land owners, the crops planted, and the kinds of support services needed to enhance farm productivity.

By enhancing the ARB database and and information system, DAR will be able to more effectively pinpoint the type of assistance that ARBs need to fully realize the potential of their lands, thereby contributing to national food security and self-sufficiency.
In attendance at the launch workshop were DAR team from the Central Office and the Provincial Office of Pangasinan, FAO Philippines project team, and a Senior Statistician from FAO's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, who is also the lead technical officer for the project.