AGRARIAN

STRUCTURES
and
DEFINITIONS
BY:
JHEVAN ABALLER
HELEN BALISALISA
MARYJOY MACABIO
PRINCESS RAGUINDIN
Agrarian reform

Introduction
Concepts

Land Reform
Reform existence of a defect that something is
deformed or malformed and does not suit existing
condition/s.

In a broad sense, land reform refers to the full range

of measures that may or should be taken to improve or
remedy the defects in the relations among men
(example: between the tiller and owner of the land,
employee and employer of the farm) with respect to
their rights in the land.
 The term has also been defined as an integrated
system of measures designed to eliminate obstacles to
economic and social development arising out of defects
in the agrarian structure. Land reform thus involves the
“transformation of agrarian structure” or what are
sometimes called “structural reforms”.

“Land reform” is often used interchangeably with

“agrarian reform” but in actuality, the latter is much
broader than the former.
AGRARIAN STRUCTURE
Defined as a complex set of relationships within the
agricultural sector among tenure structure, production
structure, and the structure of supporting services . A
comprehensive land reform program can never be
complete without integrated reforms of all three
structures.

These types of structures cannot in reality be

identified separately, each one being dependent on the
others, but for clarity and convenience of presentation,
they are discussed as distinct concepts.
LAND TENURE STRUCTURE
A concept which refers to one or more types of land
tenure systems regulating the rights to ownership and
control and usage of land and the duties accompanying
such rights.

Agricultural tenancy, as a manner of holding

agricultural lands, is only one of several forms of land
tenure or right in land. It involves the question of
whether share tenancy or leasehold tenancy is adopted.
Under share tenancy, tillers work on the land as
sharecroppers entitled to share in the produce of the
land.
 One of the main defects of our agrarian structure
was the high proportion of share tenancy in our
country. In this regard, our Code of Agrarian
Reforms automatically converts share tenants to
lessees. The next stage is the conversion of the lessee
to amortizing owner; and finally, to owner-cultivator.
Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 27, tenant-
farmers are deemed amortizing owners of rice and/or
corn lands they till.
Examples of Land tenure reform measures
1. Redistribution of private lands (through
expropriation or purchase)
2. Distribution of lands in the public domain,
sometimes also referred to as resettlement or
colonization
3. Regulation of tenancy (example: provision of
penalties for wrongful eviction of tenants,
prohibition of subletting by tenants, and others.)
4. Regulation of agricultural labor contracts and
wages
5. Elimination of absentee landlordism and transfer
of land ownership to the actual tillers.
Production Structure

Production structure is a concept which relates to

the nature, type and modus operandi as well as the
actual process of production or farm operation.

It is also directly related to the size, location and

shape of the production unit or holding, which may be
operated singly or with assistance from others. Such
unit or holding includes individual tenant farms, family
farms, cooperative or collective farms, and company
farms or plantations managed with hired labor.
Examples of Production Reform Measures.

1. Consolidation of small, uneconomic holdings to

insure optimum utilization.
2. Imposition of a floor on holdings of uneconomic
size beyond which subdivision is to be prevented
(also a tenure reform measure).
3. Promotion of cooperative or compact farming
among submarginal farmers.
4. Imposition of a ceiling on holdings of non-
cultivating owners (also a tenure reform
measure).
5. Organization of crop rotation system.
Land Tenure and Production Structures
distinguished.

The land tenure structure must be distinguished

from the production structure as it is necessary to make
a distinction between the concept of “rights in land”
(referring to ownership, lease, and others.) and the
concept of “production and use of land”. Essentially,
this implies a clear distinction between the ownership
holding and the operation holding.
 The first is a concept referring to the rights over
land, whether in terms of full ownership or as
circumscribed by law, irrespective of the manner in
which the holding is operated or managed. The second
is a concept referring to the actual management of
holding or the manner in which the land is cultivated or
operated irrespective of ownership.
Structure of Supporting Services.

The structure of supporting services is a concept

which involves matters like credit, marketing, the
supplying of agricultural requisites (such as seeds,
fertilizers, and insecticides), processing, storage, and
other technical assistance and/ or services in so far as
they have some immediate bearing on reforms of
tenure and production structures.
 These services are provided mainly by the
Department of Agrarian Reform, the Land Bank, and the
Bureau of Agricultural Extension (under the Department
of Agriculture), and they are design to insure the success
of the farmer who has acquired a new tenure status as
lessee, amortizing owner-cultivator, or owner cultivator.
They prepare the lessee for land ownership and assist the
owner-cultivator to use the land more productively and
thus increase his income.
Agrarian Reform

Agrarian Reform is considered wider than land reform.

The term comprises not only the land reform

(example: the reform of tenure, production, and
supporting services structure) but also the reform and
development of complementary institutional
framework such as the administrative agencies of the
national government, rural, educational and social
welfare institutions, cooperatives, and not limited
simply to the question of the relationships of the
farmers to the land.
 It encompasses all programs designed to bring
about improvements in all the institutions surrounding
farm life, as well as companion measures necessary to
make the work of the tenant, farm-worker, and owner-
cultivator successful.

It means remedying not only the defect in the

distribution and use of land but also and especially, the
accompanying human relations regarding land,
including economic, social and political relations.

It is concerned not only with the farmer and the

land he tills but also with the community he lives in.
 In the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of
1988 (R.A No. 6657), agrarian reform is defined to
mean “the redistribution of lands, regardless of crops
and fruits produced to farmers and regular farm
workers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial
arrangement, to include the totality of factors and
support services designed to lift the economic status of
the beneficiaries and all other arrangements alternative
to the physical redistribution of land, such as
production or profit-sharing, labor administration, and
the distribution of shares and stock, which will allow
beneficiaries to receive a just share of the fruits of the
land they work.”
 In short, the agrarian reform means solving the
agrarian problem, and thereby elevate the quality of
life of the rural populace and make them active
participants in the economic, social, and political
affairs of their locality.
Examples of Agrarian Reform Measures

Agrarian reform would, therefore, also cover the

following:

◦ Public health programs

◦ Family planning
◦ Education and training farmers
◦ Reorganization of agrarian reform agencies
◦ Application of labor laws to agricultural workers
◦ Construction of infrastructure facilities such as
feeder roads, irrigation systems, and the
establishment of rural electrification
◦ Organizations of various types of voluntary
associations (examples: farmers’ association,
cooperatives, youth organizations, as a means of
insuring popular support or overcoming opposition
to the reform
◦ Providing employment opportunities to
underemployed or surplus rural labor (examples:
through the development of cottage and small and
medium-scale industries)
◦ And other services of a community development
nature.