THE FARMERS HOUSING PROGRAM

The RATIONALE of the program are as follows:

• For 9 consecutive years, from 2006-2015, farmers

& fishermen consistently posted as the most
marginalized and poorest sectors of our society at
34% poverty incidence.

In comparison, as per World Bank study, our

national poverty incidence during the same period
was 26.6% to 21.6%. For a long time, it was the
fisherfolk sector that has been classified as the
poorest, but since 2015, it has been overtaken by
the farmers sector as the poorest, most
marginalized sector of our society.

• For ARBs, selling or mortgaging their lands is first

line of solution to cope with perennial financial
difficulties and raising business capital.

• Providing housing for farmers can boost their

morale and strengthen the emotional ties between
the farmer and his family and the land as family’s
heritage and future.

The legal bases in implementing the BALAI Farmers

Program are as follows:

 RA 11201 also known as “DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN

SETTLEMENT AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2019”
provides that the State shall ensure that the
underprivileged and homeless citizens shall have access to

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 adequate, safe, secure, habitable, sustainable, resilient
and affordable home;

 RA 1199 also known as “AGRICULTURAL TENANCY ACT OF

THE PHILIPPINES OF 1954” contains the basis for the
provision of a dwelling unit as well as the area to be
allocated to a tenant;

 RA 3844 also known as “AGRICULTURAL LAND REFORM

CODE OF 1963” provides the right to an agricultural
lessee to a homelot;

 RA 6657 which is the “CARP LAW OF 1988” Provides basis

for homelots for members of cooperatives as well as
utilization of idle, abandoned and sequestered lands for
homelot purposes;

 RA 11291 or the “MAGNA CARTA OF THE POOR OF 2019”

which provides that the basic needs of the marginalized
sector must be met such as food, education, health and
housing thru partnership.

Summarizing the salient features and indicating the

agencies responsible including its legal bases are as
follows:

 Affordable housing loans will be provided by SHFC

or NHMFC

 Balance housing requirement will be provided by

housing developers thru our partner DHSUD, as
mandated by the Strengthening the Balance
Housing Development Program Act of 2016 RA
10884.

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 This law provides that developers are required to
allocate at least 15% of the subdivision project
cost or 5% of condominium project cost, for
socialized housing compliance.

 That the farmer’s house will also serve as a

working facility or post-harvest facility, and that
the farmer’s official place of work is his abode as
mandated by RA 10000 or the Act Providing for
Agrarian Reform Credit and Financing System
Through Banking Institutions of 2009.

 And lastly, the use of CLOA as collateral to secure

also housing loans as mandated by EO No. 26
Series of 1998 providing opportunities for the
development of ARBs under CARP to become
entrepreneurs.

 For the convergence of different agencies, the

skills training will then be provided by TESDA and
DTI and the livelihood/enterprise opportunities will
be provided by DSWD and DA to improve the
incomes of ARBs;

 LGUs can also donate suitable sites for our off-site

housing

The BALAI Farmers housing program has two

variants, one is the “on-site” housing, where the
house will be built in the homelot of agrarian
reform beneficiary and this is envisioned to change
the landscape of the countryside, and the other
one is the “off-site” where LGU and other entities

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 can donate lands, but it must be near the land of
the agrarian reform beneficiaries.

 And of course, the use of green technology for the

house and the entire community, such as solar
energy and the provision of rainwater catchment
facilities.

 All concerned government agencies shall likewise

provide administrative and logistical support
expenses in their respective annual budgets in
support of this program.

For the past 2 years, the DAR has already made some
initiatives to advance the program.

 Last June 25, 2018, the PARC EXECOM approved

the BALAI Farmers Housing Program as one of the
Support Services of DAR under RESOLUTION NO.
2018-140-02, and

 Last December 4,
2019, DAR and
DHSUD signed a
Memorandum of
Agreement pursuant
to the collaboration of
the two agencies on
the implementation of
the BALAI Farmers
Housing Program.

DAR is currently conducting pilot testing of the

BALAI Farmers Housing Program to 17 sites across
the country and it was resoundingly accepted by
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 Farmers and Farmworkers and resulting to 2,017
applicant ARBs

The pilot project sites of the OFF-SITE BALAI

Farmers Housing Community will have an average area
of 2.5-hectares and will have agricultural facilities like
trading post or storage or processing plant, whatever is
necessary for their trade. The mandatory open space of
the subdivision (around 15% of the area) will be
utilized for livelihood projects such as processing plants
and communal gardens, as opposed to the usual not
have playgrounds and then like.

A model Farmers Housing unit was put up at the DAR

compound which will foster a new image of Filipino
farmers’ houses from “barong-barong” to a quaint and
comfortable unit, as a practical response to a survey by
by The World Food Programme in 2015, 44% of our
farmers lives in “barong-barong” or shanties while 47%
in a poorly constructed semi-permanent house.

The model unit has a

floor area of 36 square
meters, with 2
bedrooms and 1 toilet
& bath. It has a
ceramic tile flooring, a
space for dining area
with granite kitchen
countertop, powder-coated windows, bedroom
partitions and insulated ceiling.

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 The house, even if it’s located in an off-grid area or
in the middle of the field, will have electricity as it will
be provided with solar panel as source of their
electrical power. The house can withstand a Yolanda-
like hurricane and is fire-proof for 2 hours.

Every housing unit will also be provided with

backyard gardens as their livelihood facility that can
house hydroponic farming equipment, where it can be
produce additional income to ARBs of around P3k to
P10k a month.

 This housing unit cost is P450,000 and its solar

component costs P50k, for a total of P500k.

This is a novel idea, and what so unique about the

program is the lot is provided free-of-charge; the
land development of the on-site and off-site BALAI
Farmers is likewise free, to be provided by the
developers as their compliance to the Balance
Housing Act. The farmer-beneficiaries will only be
liable to pay for the housing component through a
P500k loan at an interest rate of 3% per annum
payable in 30 years, which roughly translates to
P1,800 per month.

• The cost benefit analysis of the program is that,

when we provide financial facilities to even 20%
of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) in the
country, or 600,000 out of 3 million ARBs, we
will be able to help reduce the 5.7 million
housing backlog.

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 And this is also timely for parcelization of
1.4Million hectares of collective CLOAs where on-
site housing can be established;

• If the average cost of a 36-sqm low cost housing

unit is around P450k. The 600,000 housing units
will translate to a P270 Billion industry, and if
the multiplier effect of real estate is 10, then this
program will generate P2.7 Trillion in value for
the economy over the next six years.

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 SUMMARY
PARTICULARS AMOUNT FUND SOURCE

Land 2-2.5 Hectares Free To be donated by host

(Ave. 200-375 units) LGU

Land Development Free To be provided by Private

(Approx. P25Million) Developers thru DHSUD
under RA 7279 (Balance
Housing Compliance)

Livelihood Component Free To be provided by DAR

and other government
(P3-5Million)
agencies
Food Processing and
Marketing Center
Solar Power Water System
with Storage Tanks and Drip
Irrigation
Rainwater Catchment
Facilities
Individual Backyard Garden,
Aquaponics
CP Wash & Bio-Digester

Housing Component. (@ P450,000 To be financed by SHFC

P450k-P560K/unit, approx. to (under CMP) or NHMFC
P112M - 170M) P500,000 (under Balai Berde
Program) with Interest
Rate for as low as 3% per
annum

• In summary, a charming and functional house valued at

approximately P1million with livelihood facilities that will
provide monthly income of P5k – P8k per family and
sustainable components that will contribute household savings
of around P2k per month will be made available to the farmers
for monthly amortization of as low as P1,600 – P1,900 per
month
• The monthly amortization will be deducted from the member’s
monthly share on the coop’s livelihood income, so the farmers
will only need to participate in the livelihood program of the

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 community in order generate income for their house payments

SUMMARY

QUALIFICATION OF BENEFICIARIES
PARTICULARS QUALIFICATIONS

LGU-recommended - Must be a farmer or farmworker (not

beneficiaries (30%) necessary CLOA holder but preferably
belonging to the low-income category)
- Must be willing to become member of the
managing Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries
Organization (ARBO)

DAR- appointed 1st Priority – CLOA Holders adjacent to the

beneficiaries project site preferably belonging to low-income
category
(70%)
2nd
Priority – Leaseholder within the
municipality or adjacent localities belonging to
low-income category
3rd
Priority – Other farmers & farmworkers
living within the municipality belonging to low-
income category

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 WHY FARMERS HOUSING?

 Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa Program promotes

decongestion of urban areas and balance regional
development – into which the program addresses both
issues. The program is for rural housing and will entice
urban dwellers especially ISFs to return to countryside
and the government will provide them shelters and
livelihood.
 The program is tied with Enhanced Partnership Against
Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program where the
produce of the communities is exclusively sold to
government hospitals and BJMP hence ensuring
sustainability.
 It will help in the food sufficiency and help
government agencies to centralize aid and deliver
other interventions in a surgical manner.
 It will help LGUs to address their local ISF problems
and promote Ambisyon Natin 2040 that poverty will be
eradicated within 25 years.
 Any housing project takes an average of two (2) years
to complete the permits and clearances, and the
major hindering factors are Development Permits from
LGU and Conversion Clearances from Department of
Agrarian Reform. The Farmers Housing Program was
able to resolve these bottlenecks as the LGU and DAR
partnered in this project, as the LGU and DAR relaxed
their requirements in order to immediately approve
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 the implementation of the project. The system earned
praise from ARTA (Anti-Red Tape Authority) in
providing an elegant solution in expediting housing
programs.

 The enormity of the program poises it to become the

face of poverty alleviation through sustainable
housing program. If implemented effectively, it
reflects well upon the administration for resolving
the housing crisis without sacrificing economic
realities, and even environmental concerns.

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