Knowledge Programme

South East Asia Regional Planning Meeting on the Knowledge Network on Grassroots Initiatives on Land and Tenurial Reforms (ARnet)
Quezon City, Philippines - 25-26 November 1997

Prepared by: Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)

I. PLANNING MEETING PROCESS

A. Introduction
This is a summary report of the South East Asia Regional Planning Meeting on the Knowledge Network on Grassroots Initiatives on Land and Tenurial Reforms held on 25-26 November 1997, at the ANGOC Regional Secretariat Office in Quezon City, Philippines. Acting as the regional focal point for South East Asia, ANGOC, upon the request of The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty  and UNRISD, organized this planning workshop. This Report presents the highlights of dicussions, the workshop process, the participants and the follow-up actions.

This 2-day Planning Meeting was participated in by 6 national NGO networks from four South East Asian countries, ANGOC, the Project Team Leader from UNRISD-Geneva and a member of the Project Advisory Committee.

Four objectives were identified for this planning meeting:

• to confirm the participation and/or commitment of the country focal points in this project;

• together with national focal points, formulate the objectives of this knowledge network;

• to discuss and agree upon operational principles in relation to the effective and efficient implementation of the project; and,

• to draw-up a one-year operational plan of the knowledge network.

B. Workshop Participants

Country focal points were selected in each of the four countries represented in this planning meeting. These were: a) Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC) for Cambodia, b) Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria or Indonesian Consortium for Agrarian Reform (CAR) for Indonesia, c) People's Campaign for Agrarian Reform (AR NOW!) for the Philippines, and d) Thai NGO WCARRD for Thailand.

These focal points are national networks or coalitions of NGOs and peoples' organizations (POs) with extensive work in social development movement, particularly on agrarian/land reform. These organizations have their own existing networks and/or linkages to the local NGOs and farmers' organizations in their respective countries.

CCC was formed in 1990 to: a) facilitate information exchange between NGOs represented in Cambodia, thus strengthening cooperation and avoiding duplication of activities where possible; and b) provide a forum for NGO co-ordination on issues of common concern, facilitating, where possible, representation to Cambodian Government authorities, other governments, and international agencies. As such, the United Nations, Embassies and other international agencies use CCC as the focal point with other NGOs. CCC has 80 members of international and local NGOs working on rural development issues.

Since 1994, CAR aims to: a) promote critical dialogue on agrarian reform, b) advocate changes in agrarian policy, and c) facilitate capacity-building of people's organizations. CAR is composed of 65 NGOs, 6 peasant organizations and several individuals concerned with agrarian issues in Indonesia.

AR NOW! is a coalition of 12 NGO networks and peasants organizations working together to: a) drum up public support for the faster distribution of private agricultural lands and the eventual completion of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program/CARP, b) ensure Congress increases and sustains financial support to agrarian reform, c) document and popularize the positive impact of agrarian reform, and d) conduct policy research and advocacy in support for the agrarian reform campaign.

Established in 1980, the Thai NGO WCARRD aims to: a) help villagers understand their problems and their communities by enabling them to participate freely in action research at the village level, b) help researchers understand steps in development in all aspects, c) use research results to help cooperative efforts, and d) provide a greater role to NGO in national development. Thai NGO WCARRD works in land reform issues in the provinces of Nakorn Sawan, Roi-Et, Nakorn Nayok.

For the complete list of participants, refer to Annex B.

C. Workshop Design

To put the planning workshop in the proper context, ANGOC provided an overview of: a) agrarian reform in the international scene and b) the Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty and its Programme of Action in relation to agrarian reform. This session was followed by The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty/UNRISD's presentation of the Knowledge Network on Grassroots Initiatives on Land and Tenurial Reforms. The participants were then requested to present country overviews on land access question, and activities of NGOs and grassroots organizations on land and tenure reforms.

Recognizing the value of this knowledge network in supporting grassroots initiatives on land tenure reform in their respective countries, the participants formulated an action plan for this knowledge network, taking into consideration the different country contexts. The participants likewise discussed the preparations needed during the IFAD 20th anniversary meeting in February 1998.

Finally, participants were invited for a field visit to Bukidnon, Mindanao to be exposed on the current agrarian issues in the Philippines. On this note, Mr. Ghimire (UNRISD) and Mr. Fauzi (CAR) were accompanied by ANGOC for a three-day site visit and meeting with farmer groups in Mindanao. Due to earlier commitments, the participants from Cambodia and Thailand returned immediately to their respective countries after the planning meeting.

Refer to Annex A for the schedule of the planning meeting.

D. Summary of Workshop Outputs

In review, the following outputs were achieved:

• clarified objectives and activities of this knowledge network

• provided a global and country overviews on agrarian reform

• confirmed the commitment of country focal points to the project

• formulated one-year action plan of knowledge network

II. PERSPECTIVES ON AGRARIAN REFORM

A. International Overview of Agrarian Reform by ANGOC

Breaking grounds

In 1974, the World Bank claimed that redistributive land reform "can go a long way towards solving the problem of rural poverty and without which it would be difficult to see much headway being made to reduce poverty in the rural areas" (World Bank, 1974:11). The Bank continued by explicitly stating in its guidelines for lending to developing countries that "in countries where increased productivity can effectively be achieved only subsequent to land reform, the Bank will not support projects which do not include land reform."

Five years later (July 1979), 145 governments gathered in Rome to commit themselves to a Declaration and Programme of Action at the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD). The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized it with a view to alleviate rural poverty and adopting policies to achieve growth with equity and participation.

Paragraph 8 of the Declaration states that sustained improvement of rural areas requires fuller and more equitable access to land, water and other natural resources; widespread sharing of economic and political power (FAO, 1979). Agrarian reform was then deemed to be the foundation of rural development and social and political stability.

Dwindling interest

In the mid-1980s, there was a shift, what el Ghonemy calls, "in operational ideologies of major Western countries and international institutions". The USA and UK policies brought a radical move towards economic growth and support for market forces, particularly large business interests. Such internal policies had a major influence on international institutions such as the World Bank, which these countries dominated. Support was focused on liberalization of trade, the promotion of export crops and related policies. This left little scope to actively pursue agrarian reform. As economic globalization widened and deepened, the consolidation of lands by corporations, especially TNCs, for high-value export crops means that there is all the more reason for support for agrarian reform to weaken. Since the start, agrarian reform has mainly been a Southern agenda.

By 1987, various FAO studies showed deteriorating access to land for small farmers. Landlessnes grew, there were large increases in very small land-ownership patterns, and large inequalities in sizes of land-holdings persisted.

Recent international conferences

The rise (again) of agrarian reform in the international scene has been revived by various global meetings. For hunger and poverty to be addressed effectively, equity issues such as agrarian reform should continue to be a policy imperative to be actively pursued into reality. In very poor countries which have implemented it, there is much evidence to show that redistributive land reform and support services, implemented properly, have had a marked effect in alleviating poverty. As there is a close relation between poverty and landlessness in most rural communities, agrarian reform is fundamental to solving the problem.

When small farmers know that they own the land they till, they will be motivated to invest in it to improve agricultural productivity. Security of land tenure is a basic precondition of sustainable land resource use.

With the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, sustainability became an added feature of the development objectives of growth, equity and participation.

In 1995, IFAD took the lead in organizing the Brussels Conference on Poverty and Hunger focused on rural hunger. The conference resulted in one unique solution: creation of a POPULAR COALITION. The conference has five action initiatives: a) establish a coalition for the empowerment of the poor; b) establish knowledge networks; c) develop strategies for public awareness and political will; d) emergency prevention programme for regions prone to emergencies and vulnerable households; and e) implementation of the convention to combat desertification particularly for Africa. Given the strong representation of Southern NGOs, agrarian reform was identifed as a major action area of the POPULAR COALITION.

Late last year (November 1996), FAO convened the global leaders during the World Food Summit (WFS). This event provided an opportunity to underscore the importance of ensuring food security, through agrarian reform, for rural households and other vulnerable sectors in the rural areas. The WFS Plan of Action produced seven commitments in ending hunger and poverty in the turn of the century. It is noteworthy to look at the second commitment, to wit:

We will implement policies aimed at eradicating poverty and inequality and improving physical and economic access by all, at all times, to sufficient, nutrionally adequate and safe food and its efective utilization. The underlying objectives are: to pursue poverty eradication, among both urban and rural poor, and sustainable food security for all as a policy priority and to promote, through sound national policies, secure and gainful employment and equitable and equal access to productive resources such as land, water, and credit, so as to maximize the incomes of the poor.

Table 1: International Events that highlighted agrarian reform in the development scene

Year	Name of Event
1976	World Food Conference
1979	World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
1992	Earth Summit and Biodiversity Convention
1993	International Conference on Nutrition
1995	World Bank Conference on Hunger
1995	IFAD Brussels Conference on Poverty and Hunger
1996	World Food Summit

B. Country Overviews on Agrarian Reform

This section comprises the country presentations made by the focal points, group discussion and complemented by recent ANGOC studies on resource management. The NGO networks that participated in this South East Asia Regional Planning Meeting, have diverse perspectives and experiences in land access question.

Cambodia

Land use and limitations

The country's land area (1991) covers about 18,191,600 hectares, much of which (or 65.7%) is under forest cover. Though still comparatively dense, the country's forests have diminished over the years because of neglect, excessive logging, and poor management. The loss of forest cover is estimated to be about 1% per year, and 57% of forest areas has been declared "highly distributed" and vulnerable to rapid deforestation. Agricultural areas and land under permanent cultivation occupy almost 2.5 million hectares (1991), 3.6% less than the figure for 1988. Meadows and pastures account for 11.3% of the land, while the remaining 9.4% are put to other uses, such as settlement.

Much potentially rich farmland remains inaccessible due to the presence of 4.5 million undetected landmines in the countryside. Furthermore, except for the black or brown soils found in Battambang (excellent for the cultivation of rice, fruit trees, and subsidiary crops) most soils in the country suffer from low fertility. Soils which overlay basalt in the eastern part of Cambodia, specifically the red soils, are suitable for a number of crops (particularly rubber), as are soils on river banks, but these are limited in area.

Table 2: Land Use in Cambodia, 1988 and 1991

Year	1988		1991
	Hectares	%	Hectares	%
Agricultural Land	3,128,956	17.20	2,474,058	13.60
Forested	13,789,232	75.80	11,951,881	65.70
Meadows and Pastures	545,748	3.30	2,055,650	11.30
Other	673,089	3.70	1,710,010	9.40
Source: Britannica World Data,1995, 1991

Crop share of agricultural land

Rice, the dominant crop, is currently grown on some 1.9 million hectares. (Rainfed lowland rice, the predominant type, is grown on about 1.6 million hectares.; floating rice, on 120,000 hectares; and flood recession rice, on 140,000 hectares.

Rubber is cultivated on 62,000 hectares; maize on 48,000 hectares; mungbean on 24,000 hectares; tobacco on 17,000 hectares; soybean on 16,000 hectares; cassava on 16,000 hectares; and sesame on 13,000 hectares.Vegetables are grown on small plots (of less than 0.5 ha) on the river banks and leeves, both for home consumption and commercial production.

Fruit trees are generally found in home gardens, although commercial plantations can be found in provinces like Battambang (citrus, mango and banana), Kompong Cham (banana and pineapple) and Kampot (durian and rambutan)

Land ownership structure

Access to land in Cambodia has been closely linked with politics and the political parties which dominate the political scene.

Traditionally, the use of the land was conferred on those cultivating it. After 1975 all lands became collectively owned, and remained that way until 1989 when private ownership of land was restored.

A new land law was promulgated in 1992, which prescribed three basic types of land tenure. The law sought to discourage the sale of land and its concentration in the hands of a few people. Property conflicts became frequent and were amplified by the return of people, among them the border camp refugees, to their homes or original villages. The government claims that the scarcity of land has something to do with difficulties in surveying and land titling (or re-titling).

Government's View on Land Reform

The Land Title Department under the Ministry of Agriculture is conducting a study on agrarian reform until February 1998 as a conditionality for funding made by GTZ and ADB. A draft policy on agrarian reform will be formulated and presented during the internal discussion among land title departments countrywide. After which, the draft policy will be subjected to a plenary discussion at the Ministerial level. By March 1998, it will be sent to the Council Ministers for endorsement to the Parliament for final approval.

Grassroots Initiatives in Land Reform

Drawing on their experience of working at the village level, NGOs are well placed to tackle the basic causes of poverty and the enhancement of food security. NGOs have an advocacy role, compelling donors to address issues relating to degradation of the environment, community participation and the impact of structural adjustments on the different sectors of the society. NGOs are working at the grassroots level to build a strong society. Crucial to the success of these activities is an investment in capacity building at the local and provincial levels and support of local initiatives.

Indonesia:

Land use pattern

The country's land area covers about 191,931,700 hectares, much of which (or 60.3%) is under forest cover. In the three-year period, from 1988 to 1991, close to 5 million hectares were deforested, suggesting a loss of about 1.6 million hectares per year. Already 40% of the standing forest stock has been damaged by logging operations.

On the other hand, agricultural land increased its share of the total land area by about a million hectares during the same three-year period, primarily at the expense of forest and wetlands. Two islands, Java and Sumatra, account for more than 80% of total food production. Java, where only 56% of ricelands are irrigated, produces 60% of the total rice output (or 27,106.8 million tons) and 70% of the maize and soybean harvests. This has wrought severe strain on Java's land: the cost of soil erosion in Java is estimated to be around $400 million per year.

Meanwhile, meadows and pastures account for 6.5% of the land, while the remaining 20.9% are put to other uses.

Table 3: Land Use in Indonesia, 1988 and 1991

Year	1988		1991
	Hectares	%	Hectares	%
Agricultural Land	22,456,009	11.70	23,607,599	12.30
Forested	120,149,244	62.60	115,159,020	60.30
Meadows and Pastures	12,475,560	6.50	12,475,560	6.50
Other	36,850,886	19.20	40,113,725	20.90
Source: Britannica World Data,1995, 1991

Land ownership and tenure

An estimated 4 to 5 million farmers in Indonesia are landless except for the area on which their house stands and the traditional Pekarangan (garden lot), usually small in size. On the other hand, eighteen million farm households own less than 1 hectare of land.

A detailed study shows that in some provinces as much as if not over 25% of households are landless, and a smaller number have no access to land. The landless and almost landless can move above the poverty line only by finding off-farm work.

The Status of Agriculture in the Economy

From 1970 to 1990, the agriculture sector grew at the rate 3.8% per annum. Rice, being the single largest component of the food crop sub-sector, grew at the rate of 4.8%. However, all signs seem to point to agriculture's steady decline.

Indicative of the structural transformation of the Indonesian economy is the inverse relationship between per capita income improvements and agriculture's performance. In the early '70s the sector's share of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was over 50% of the total. In 1990, it was down to 20%.

Agriculture's share of the labor force shows the same downward trend. From 64% in 1971 it is down to 49.3% (1990). The food crop subsector is particularly hard put to absorb new workers, and nowhere is this more evident than in land-short Java, which used to be a dominant source of agricultural employment. In contrast, the tree crops subsector has been able to take in more entrants, boasting an absorption rate of 10.5%.

Government's View on Land Reform

Governments' interest on agrarian reform has been declining since 1960s and concentrated in taking over people's lands for big business projects. Despite reported cases of human rights violations related to land disputes, the discourse on agrarian reform is confined to academic intellectuals and NGO activists, and not in the government agenda. These land disputes are between landlords and tenant peasants, or between peasant groups and local government officials. Now, other sources of land disputes have arisen such as: · government requires the peasants to adopt green revolution strategies to meet national rice sufficiency · large plantation projects acquired land previously occupied by small peasants · government takes over lands of small peasants for development projects · priority for mining and forestry industries denying the rights of indigenous communities

Grassroots Initiatives in Land Reform

Since 1979, NGOs such as BINA DESA initiated efforts to follow-up WCARRD. From 1985-94, NGOs throughout the country dealt with land dispute cases especially involving both peasant and indigenous peoples or customary land issues through peasant organizing and advocacy work. By 1994, NGOs and academic intellectuals have declared their need to create a consortium for agrarian reform called the Consortium for Agrarian Reform (CAR).

CAR has identified three group activities to widen political space for agrarian reform:

Front line activities to influence external environment: dissemination of ideas, information campaign, drafting of alternatives, lobbying and policy dialogues Base activities to empower communities: critical education, organizing, experimenting alternatives such as reforming access and control over agrarian resources, and reorganizing agricultural production Support activities: packaging information through studies, database, publication among others, collecting funds, and logistics

CAR views that international linkage can support its on-going efforts for the promotion of agrarian reform initiatives in the country.

Philippines:

Limitations posed by soil condition

The country's agricultural land is used primarily to grow low value crops such as rice, corn, and coconut. A study done by the Philippine Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) showed that farmlands planted to the crops above mentioned are characterized as follows:

Of farmlands devoted to rice production (3.21 million hectares), 3.1 million hectares are classified as prime land, while approximately 109,971 hectares are located in marginal areas. An additional 6 million hectares currently being used to grow other crops may be developed for rice production

Of lands devoted to the growing of corn (1.25 million hectares), 67% (or 840,174 hectares) is of prime grade, while 33% (or 412,348 hectares) are marginal. Some 7.6 million hectares may be converted from their present uses for corn production.

Coconut is grown on 3.82 million hectares, of which 66% (or 2.51 million hectares) is prime land and 34% (or 1.32 million hectares) is marginal. The potential expansion area for coconut production is put at some 6.32 million hectares.

Land use pattern

Of the country's 30 million hectare land area, about 17 million hectares are legally classified as public land (for forestry uses), while the remaining 13 million falls under the category alienable and disposable (i.e. lands that can be used for agriculture and various other economic activities).

There was a declining trend in forest cover, from 15.9 million hectares in 1970 to 8.95 million, or about 44% less, in 1990. Grasslands, meanwhile, increased by about 275,000 hectares per year in the same period. So did agricultural lands, with an annual growth rate of 69,800 hectares, from 1970 to 1990. However, in and around the various growth areas and urban centers a slow but consistent decline in prime agricultural land, specifically irrigated land, has been noted. These areas are being converted into huge housing projects, industrial estates and Rural Industrial Centers.

Table 4: Land Use in the Philippines, 1991

Year	1991
	Hectares	%
Agricultural Land	10,379,774	34.59
Grass/shrubland	8,991,239	29.97
Woodland	8,943,181	29.80
Wetland	773,568	2.58
Other	917,040	3.06
Source: Census of Agriculture

Land ownership structure

The agrarian structure in the Philippines is generally characterized by the coexistence of small peasant farms and large plantations. The ownership-holding size pattern is highly skewed. While only 3.4% of all farms are larger than 10 hectares, these, however, cover as much as one-third of the total agricultural land area. On the other hand, almost two- thirds of all farms are less than 3 hectares in size and cover only 30% of the total area. The pattern looks even more disproportional when land distribution by type of crop planted is considered. This is due to the fact that huge corporate plantations are involved in the production of these commodities.

In terms of average farm size, tobacco, tuber, and vegetable farms are smallest, with less than 2 hectares. Pineapple and sugarcane farms, together with cattle farms, have some of the largest farm sizes.

More than half of all farms (59%) are owner-operated. However, share tenancy continues to be quite prevalent in spite of past reform measures aimed at abolishing this condition, particularly in rice and corn farms. Owner-operated farms make up 61% of the total farm area, while 20% is characterized by share tenancy arrangements.

Irrigation development

Major efforts are directed towards improving the country's irrigation facilities. Approximately 1.5 million hectares are already serviced by irrigation facilities, of which 42.2% are national irrigation systems, 47.6% communal irrigation systems, and 10% pump irrigation systems. In a further effort to react the uplands, the Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM) has constructed some 546 Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIPs) servicing a total area of 23,852 hectares. The SWIP acts as a run-off control to mitigate the effects of lowland flooding while providing much needed irrigation water in the summer months.

Government's View on Land Reform

Governments since 1950s formulated several laws on agrarian reform. The 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) was the most comprehensive of these laws because CARL: a) covers 8.1 million hectares of the total 12 million hectares of public and private agricultural lands, b) calls for a meaningful NGO and PO participation, and c) showcases Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) supported with services. To date, the government reports a 54% accomplishment in land distribution to farmers, most of which were upland and government-owned lands. Large and private landholdings remain undistributed.

However, CARL poses several problems in its ten-year period of implementation:

• strong landowners resistance coupled with government's weak police support

• weak inter-agency coordination

• inadequate funding

• illegal land conversion cases

• slow resolution of cases

• inadequate support services (including information technology)

• government reversals of lands awarded

Grassroots Initiatives in Land Reform

NGOs and POs had been in the forefront on agrarian reform advocacy since early 1950s. In 1987, a coalition of 12 umbrella peasant organizations was created under the Congress for People's Agrarian Reform (CPAR) to initiate a People's Agrarian Reform Code (PARCODE) which became the first draft of CARL. After CPAR's six-year term, various forms of coalitions at the national level were created because of specific issues in agrarian reform. In 1989, PhilDHRRA and PAKISAMA, together with key agrarian reform advocates in government and leading academic institutions, have pioneered the concept of tripartism of PO-NGO-GO partnership in agrarian reform implementation.

In 1997, the People's Campaign for Agrarian Reform (AR NOW!), an aggrupation of NGO networks and peasants organizations, was formed to push agrarian reform issue back in the limelight of public's and government's interest.

Several activities and processes of accelerating AR were already being initiated by NGOs and people'sorganizations (POs). However, much is needed such as:

• stronger link ups with different groups at the provincial and national levels

• strengthen the existing information management system on agrarian reform

• showcase to farmers actual success of agrarian reform models

• international support to pressure national government

• on-the-ground exposures and dialogues of activists and policy-makers (across the region)

• documentation on conflict between lands occupied by indigenous peoples and agrarian reform beneficiaries

Thailand:

Land and soil condition

Lowland areas in the central region, the north-east plateau and the northern hill areas are suitable for rice production and some vegetables. Rice, in particular, is grown on low- lying flat terrain and flood plains where the soils are ideal for rice. The highlands which have a more complex physiography and soil parent materials are more suited to fruit trees, maize and kenalf.

The Omacoop study (1991) on land and soil suitability for current land uses show that, by the standard set by the Department of Land Development, 17.78 million hectares, or 34.7% of the total land area, is not being "properly" used. More specifically, 6.58 million hectares, which are suited for watershed purposes, are being farmed; so too are 4.37 million hectares of forest area. Meanwhile, 2.16 million hectares planted to paddy are not suited to that crop, while the remaining 2.33 million hectares then growing upland crops are likewise ill-suited for that purpose.

Land use pattern

Before 1960 Thai agriculture was concentrated in the lowlands and primarily on rice production. From the '60s to the '70s the boom in agricultural exports led to an expansion in arable land which extended into the uplands. Statistics show that between 1970 and 1988 agricultural land increased from 26.81% to 41.77%. Rice (paddy) is still the main crop (as of 1990, grown on 10,310,000 ha, or 23.69% of arable land), followed closely by corn and cassava.

As lowland farming was transformed by mechanization and hybrid crop varieties, subsistence farmers were pushed out of their lands and moved into the forests. Shifting cultivation became widespread in hilly and mountainous areas, leading to deforestration. But the large-scale destruction of Thailand's forests was wrought not by upland farmers but by nationwide infrastructure projects, expecially rural roads. The average annual loss from 1973 to 1978 was particularly heavy. From a high of over 50% in the '70s, forest cover had been reduced to 28% by 1990.

This prompted the government to reclassify land for multiple uses, taking into consideration what particular lands are suited for. A government policy allocated 40% of the country's land area for forests, 25% for economic use, and 15% for reservations. And in 1983 a land use zoning plan came into force.

Land conversion

Despite the enforcement of the government's land use zoning plan in 1983, the conversion of agricultural land for urban and industrial use has proceeded apace. This is because zoning regulations have been rendered inutile by politically powerful speculators.

In recent years, land prices have skyrocketed due to speculative practices, and the government has been virtually powerless against it. Under the current land taxation system, landholders are obliged to pay only a marginal holding cost and can do whatever they want with their land.

Land ownership structure: Land rights

Thailand's Department of Lands issues four types of land right papers: (1) the Sor Kor Nung, a certificate which is not legally enforceable; (2) the Nor Sor Song, a certificate allowing the holder to cultivate the land temporarily; (3) the Exploitation Testimonial, issued to a Nor Sor Song holder; and (4) the Title Deed. (The degree of land ownership and transferrability increases from [1] through [4]).

The latest records show that about 39% of the total land area is legally owned by their occupants. However, only 19% of such private lands, which are generally located in urban and district centers, have title deeds. Meanwhile, about 56.7% are occupied by virtue of an Exploitation Testimonial.

It is not difficult to obtain these certificates, but rural people may consider the process complicated and costly.

Land distribution and ownership

The country's average landholding size is 4.51 hectares as of 1988. This is not to say, however, that holdings are generally large-size. In truth, statistics show that Thailand has a serious problem with land distribution. In the upper north provinces, for example, over 50% of households have holdings of less than a hectare, while 31% own even less than this (more specifically, less than 0.8 ha) and are considered "near-landless".

The really landless are just as numerous: about 900,000 families. In 1988 about three million hectares, or 12.7% of the country's agricultural land were farmed by tenurial farmers. The tenancy problem is particularly acute in the central plain where 25% of all agricultural land is found.

Table 5: Trends in land use in Thailand (Unit: %)

	1970	1975	1980	1985	1988
Forest	52.39	38.61	32.25	29.00	28.03
Agricultural Land	26.81	31.77	34.60	37.29	41.77
Paddy fields	20.19	22.17	22.94	23.00	23.09
Tree Crop	2.93	3.24	3.47	4.19	6.08
Other Crops	3.67	6.21	8.03	9.84	11.12
Pastuer land		0.15	0.16	0.26	1.48
Settlement	0.82	0.88	0.89	0.94	1.04
Water Bodies and Others	19.88	28.74	32.26	32.77	29.16
Source: Agricultural Statistics in Brief

Government's View on Land Reform

Successive land reform efforts of the governments have come to naught because of a failure in implementation. The Fair Land Lease for Rent Act, for instance, was issued by the government purportedly to ease the suffering of over 500,000 landless farmers (1983 estimate). However, powerful landlords have been allowed -- at times, aided -- by the government to circumvent it.

The Land Reform Act of 1989 is another example. This law aimed to correct the highly skewed landownership structure in Thailand by putting a limit (50 rai) on the amount of land which an individual can own. Unfortunately, government has scrupulously avoided applying the law to large private landholders. The ACT has also been criticized for stretching the meaning of the word "farmer" to include those who are not already farmers yet intend to be one in the future.

The agricultural extension officers of the Land Reform Office focused neither on distributed lands nor on assisting the small farmers. Hence, farmers depend on money-lenders charging high interest rates.

Land rights have become complicated due to vast demand of land for tourism and "development."

Grassroots Initiatives in Land Reform

In 1973, A Farmers' Federation Movement was organized because these farmers were indebted due to their landlessness. In 1979, an NGO movement called Thai WCARRD was formed to promote NGO and PO participation in Land Reform. However, it did not focus on agrarian reform because there were no projects to be implemented in villages. It had to seek permission from national governments before working in the villages. Besides, it lacked knowledge on the power structure within villages.

Recently, a network on Sustainable Agriculture has been formed, incorporating agrarian reform as one of its dimensions. It is composed of more than 50 organizations across Thailand. These organizations are mainly affiliated to the Alternative Agriculture Forum, and Network on Natural Resources.

In the North eastern part of Thailand, NGOs organized the Northern Farmers Federation to assist small farmers to compensate for their lands. A Federation of the Poor, composed of urban and rural poor in landless areas, has negotiated with the government to assist in developing the agriculture sector.

III. HIGHLIGHTS OF PLENARY DISCUSSIONS: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE NETWORK

This section shall present on the major agreements reached by the participants, ANGOC and UNRISD during the two-day planning meeting.

Knowledge Network

With regard to the knowledge network for this project, the participants have represented their respective NGO networks. During the meeting,the country focal points have expressed their commitment to the project, indicating that their respective organizations have been involved in agrarian reform issues and have established linkages with the local organizations (i.e., local NGOs, peasant organizations) over the years. Their activities have included, but not limited to: information sharing, advocacy work, policy work, field projects, capacity building.

(CCC, the representative from Cambodia, shall inform the regional node on their participation in the project. CAR would represent Indonesia; PAKISAMA on behalf of AR NOW! shall act as country focal point in the Philippines; Thai NGO WCARRD for Thailand.)

It should be noted that the project should enhance the present activities of the respective country focal points. The project should also take into consideration the appropriate approaches to be undertaken due to the different country contexts.

UNRISD recommended that ANGOC, being a regional organization, link-up with the South Asia focal point for this project. ANGOC responded affirmatively, noting that:

• most of the South Asian participants had worked/collaborated with ANGOC in the past;

• this project shall contribute in ANGOC's efforts, as well as the individual country participants, to consolidate and strengthen agrarian reform activities and networking in the region and their respective countries

Nevertheless, ANGOC shall assess its practicality and discuss the matter with its Board of Directors.

As a point of clarification, the participants recommended that the project shall cover not only agricultural lands but also forest, water and other resources. The recommendation was accepted by UNRISD.

Knowledge Network and The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty

Two points were raised with regard to the role of The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty in this project:

• The participants were not clear on the linkage of this knowledge network project (i.e., importance given to agrarian reform) with for example, IFAD projects supported under regular programming in the region. UNRISD was requested by the participants to inquire from IFAD this clarification to avoid confusion at the local level. This would also provide consistency in the policies and projects of IFAD and national governments. As an initial step, Mr. Olano volunteered to inquire from IFAD its bilateral projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Mr. Olano shall then forward the lists to ANGOC for eventual circulation to the country focal points.

• Since IFAD is also involved in another global project on agrarian reform with World Bank/WB and FAO (i.e., Market-Negotiated Agrarian Reform Program), the participants requested UNRISD to clarify the relationship of this knoweldge network project with that of the joint program with WB and FAO.

Work Program of Knowledge Network

The participants had agreed on a work program until September 1998 based on the project's timetable and the needs of the NGO networks. The participants noted that this project should build/support their existing agrarian reform initiatives and networking activities. Moreover, the participants noted that they should not be restricted by the project outline but take into consideration the different country contexts in pursuing the objectives of the project. For more details of the calendar of activities, refer to the next section.

During the first phase of the project (i.e., September 1998), this knowledge network shall:

• build and expand existing linkages among NGOs and grassroots organizations

• collect and disseminate innovative agrarian reform initiatives at the grassroots level

• Provide international support to country initiatives through solidarity letters, sharing of information, etc.

To support the work of the country focal points during the first phase (i.e., translation of questionnaires, follow-up responses, coordination, communications, preparations of national action plans, project proposal writing), the participants requested a budget of USD 2,000/country focal point from The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty. The said funds would facilitate the gathering of the information given the limitations of language, distance, means of communications and time.

Preparations for IFAD's 20th Anniversary

A considerable time was alloted to the preparations for the 20th anniversary of IFAD next February 1998. The country focal points noted though the time constraint vis-a-vis the needed activities to be accomplished. On this note, the knoweldge network shall prepare the following:

a) Regional Overview of Agrarian Reform

Taking into consideration the inputs of the country focal points and its existing studies on agrarian reform, ANGOC shall prepare a regional overview paper together with 8 case studies (i.e., 2 case studies per country) and a listing of grasroots organizations involved in agrarian reform (at least 80 groups or 20 groups per country).

b) Questionnaires

It had been agreed that the country focal points would have the flexibility in revising the questionnaires to suit their needs and adaptable at the grassroots level. Due to existing time constraints, the country focal points shall utilize their existing databases. The following targets had been set:

c) Participation in the The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty Meeting scheduled from Rome in February 1998

Recognizing the importance of the 20th Anniversary of IFAD, the participants recommended that IFAD support the participation of the following organizations: regional focal and country focal points, and two grassroots representatives per country. The regional and national focal points shall prepare materials (i.e., audio-visuals) for this meeting. It was recommended that an NGO booth and facilities would be provided by IFAD for the display of these materials.

Knowledge Network on Grassroots Initiatives on Land and Tenurial Reforms South East Asia Regional Planning Meeting

ANGOC, Quezon City, Philippines 25-26 November 1997

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Country Focal Points
Cambodia
Ms. Khou Somatheavy
Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC)

Indonesia
Mr. Noer Fauzi
Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (Consortium for Agrarian Reform/CAR)

Philippines
Ms.Jenny Bandigan
Mr. Raul Socrates Banzuela
Mr. Javier Jimenez
People's Campaign for Agrarian Reform (AR NOW!)
c/o Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA)

Thailand
Mr. Taweekiat Prasertcharoensuk
Thai NGO WCARRD

Regional Focal Point
Mr. Antonio B. Quizon
Mr. Roel R. Ravanera
Mr. Nathaniel Don E. Marquez
Ms. Ginette S. Garcia
Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform or P.O. Box 3107
and Rural Development (ANGOC) QCCPO 1103

Project Advisory Committee
Mr. Krishna Ghimire
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

Mr. Jose Noel D. Olano
Project Advisory Committee Member
c/o Philippine Development Assistance Programme (PDAP)