TANZA, Cavite -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is currently conducting its first-semester performance assessment and planning conference here. The three-day activity aims to improve the delivery of its services by identifying the challenges and crafting solutions to deliver the department’s priority targets.

DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III said the activity focuses on assessing the DAR offices nationwide of their performance on the programs and projects of the department undertaken from January to June 2022.

“This assessment would help us achieve President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s national goal of addressing social justice and improving the lives of poor farmers through land reform,” Estrella said.

Estrella laid down his priority goals to his officials, to serve as a guide for formulating strategic plans for agrarian reform implementation for the next six years.

The Secretary’s main priorities are to speed up land distribution, agrarian justice delivery, and intensify support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
“In six years, aside from these three main goals, I will push the DAR to achieve self-sufficiency for the ARBs, create progressive agrarian cooperatives, and sustainable and resilient agrarian reform communities (ARCs),” Estrella said.

He said the department intends to achieve the following targets: 80 percent or 743,800 ARBs with improved productivity and increased income; 85 percent or 7,800 agrarian cooperatives with established and stable viable business operations managed by the ARBs; and 80 percent or 1,300 ARCs with improved business ecosystems and connectivity.

“I am confident that with these priority goals, the department’s workforce will do its best to implement programs and projects that will hasten land distribution, delivery of support services, and improve the economic lives of farmers,” Estrella said.

DAR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Research Office (PPRO) Luis Meinrado Pañgulayan said the activity also included mapping strategic plans to achieve the department’s targets.

During the plenary and focus group discussion, the participants were able to identify the DAR’s internal and external drivers and barriers, which either helped or hindered the achievement of its targets.

“This activity is being done to assess the gaps in areas of work, formulating solutions to deliver its annual targets and objectives, and engaging and empowering employees to motivate them in doing their job,” Pañgulayan said.

The assessment and planning conference is being held from August 25-27, 2022 in Tanza, Cavite and via online streaming. (DAR)