May 28, 2021

HON. JOHN R. CASTRICIONES

Secretary of Agrarian Reform
DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
Elliptical Road, Diliman,
Quezon City

Re: Addressing Issues and Problems in the Agrarian Sector

Dear Sir:

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in severe economic and social impacts around
the world. Both lives and livelihoods are at risk from this pandemic and our country is
having a hard time escaping this unprecedent event. I have come to notice that there
isn’t much attention given towards our farmers considering that they are increasingly
more vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic and the crisis of high prices of food and
other basic commodities. This letter is to urge you to use your authority in resolving the
issues I will be mentioning regarding the seemingly never-ending problems in our
agrarian sector.
The first problem I will be talking about is the farmers’ low productivity and high
production costs. This has been a long-time problem in our agricultural sector as we
are lagging behind in terms of agricultural technology. Although, investing might seem
like a burden, the efficiency of work will increase. My proposed solution for this problem
is to:
 Invest in new agricultural technologies – investing with technologies such as rice
mechanization would help increase our farmers’ productivity as it will increase
farm yields, the production cost will be lowered and postharvest losses will be
reduced. Decrease in cost of production may help the farmers have a decent
return on investment.
 Build better irrigation facilities – building better irrigation facilities will provide
farmers sufficient water to crops to increase yield and ensure the stability of
production, even under extreme weather conditions.
The second problem is the low land retention ceiling under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Under this program, the landowner may only
retain a maximum five hectares of land which impedes to economies of scale. My
proposed solution for this problem is to:
 Increase the retention limit for landowners – the retention limit policy aides the
landowners the right to choose which lands to retain; thus, having low land
retention will leave the farmers no choice but to be left with marginalized lands
which would be difficult for them to manage.
With this letter I hope that I have given you ideas with regards to how we could
contribute in minimizing the burdens of our farmers. Helping them would boost our
agrarian productivity and profitability. It would also help improve food security and will
surely benefit our countrymen. In times of crisis such as the unprecedented COVID-19
pandemic, we, Filipinos, should help each other in times of need.

I am in high hopes that this letter would reach you. Thank you for your kind
consideration.

Sincerely,