TACLOBAN CITY - Newly-designated Agrarian Reform regional chief Homer Tobias expressed optimism yesterday to hit the 14,886 hectares target for the land distribution this year to qualified farmer beneficiaries all over the region.
Tobias, who just assumed office more than one week ago, told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the target hectares for land distribution in Eastern Visayas region is actually apart from the 130,000 hectares target nationwide as funded under the land tenure improvement of the Dept. of Agrarian Reform in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
He said that under the operational directives of DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, its respective regional offices should actively coordinate with the non-government organizations and people’s organizations for the inclusion of workable landholdings that they are working on in 2006, land acquisition distribution target and beyond.
Next week Tobias said he is set to visit the six provinces in the region to find out whether they are firm to give their full commitment in hitting the target for land distribution to landless farmers.
Meanwhile, it was reported that 13 more infrastructure projects now closely being monitored by DAR under Agrarian Reform Community Development is now being funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for agrarian community projects.
These on-going multi-million infrastructure projects are in Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar.
Tobias disclosed that 55 percent of the total target land distribution will still come from the province of Leyte Norte and the remaining 45 percent will be divided from other five provinces.
