Four organizations in the Philippines, representing a collective of 14,000 smallholder farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, and marginalized rural communities, are appealing for international backing to halt a World Bank-funded initiative they claim threatens their livelihoods and land tenure. The initiative in question, the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, boasts a substantial investment of $370 million from the World Bank and is overseen by the Philippines' Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
These organizations have raised concerns over the transparency of the DAR and the potential erosion of collective land tenure due to the project's activities. They argue that the SPLIT project, by facilitating the acquisition of large tracts of rural land by developers and multinational corporations, could permanently shift land ownership away from smallholders. This shift, they fear, could lead to increased violence and instability in rural areas.
In their communication to the World Bank's Board of Directors, the groups highlighted the lack of consultation with agrarian reform beneficiaries regarding their options under the SPLIT project, which they say is leading to the dissolution of agrarian reform beneficiary cooperatives. They assert that the project's continuation could undermine decades of agrarian reform efforts in the Philippines, benefiting land developers and corporate agribusinesses at the expense of smallholder farmers.
The letter calls for an immediate freeze on SPLIT project funding pending investigation into these allegations, urging the World Bank to engage in meaningful dialogue to address the concerns raised. The organizations emphasize that proceeding with the project without resolving these issues could damage the World Bank's reputation and violate its Environmental and Social Framework.
The organizations behind the letter include the Alter Trade Foundation, Inc. (ATFI), the Foundation for Agrarian Reform Cooperatives in Mindanao (FARMCOOP), Kaisahan, and the Pambansang Kilusan ng Mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), all of which are deeply involved in promoting sustainable agriculture, agrarian reform, and rural development in the Philippines.
Source: BananaLink