The Magna Carta of Small Farmers

Section 2

It is the declared policy of the State to give the highest priority to the development of agriculture such that equitable distribution of benefits and opportunities is realized through the empowerment of small farmers. While the State recognizes the fact that the welfare and development of the small farmers is their primordial responsibility, the State shall provide the necessary support mechanism towards the attainment of their socioeconomic endeavors. Recognizing that rural development based on growth and equity requires full integration of women and youth in the mainstream of development, the State shall ensure that these sectors are provided ample opportunity to develop their skills, acquire productive employment and contribute to their communities to the fullest of their capabilities. To ensure the efficient use and sustainability of land, water and other productive resources, the State shall ensure that ecological balance and environmental protection are maintained and observed in its pursuit of rural development goals. In pursuance of this policy, the State shall recognize the right of small farmers and farmworkers, as well as cooperatives and independent farmers' organizations, to participate in the planning, organization, management and implementation of agricultural programs and projects especially through the bayanihan spirit. It shall support agriculture through appropriate policies, research, technology and training, and adequate financial, production, marketing and other support services to enhance agricultural productivity. In addition, it shall provide incentives and reward systems to small farmers so as to accelerate agricultural productivity and to promote self-sufficiency and full development of agricultural potentials.

Section 3

This Act shall cover all small farmers and, to the extent herein provided, the departments, offices, agencies, subdivisions or instrumentalities of the National Government.

Section 4

For purposes of this Act, the term: (1) "Small farmer" refers to natural persons dependent on small-scale subsistence farming as their primary source of income and whose sale, barter or exchange of agricultural products do not exceed a gross value of One hundred eighty thousand pesos (P180,000) per annum based on 1992 constant prices. An inter-agency committee composed of the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority and headed by the Department of Agriculture may conduct periodic review and adjustments of the income level to take into account the effects of changes in inflation, devaluation and consumer price index; (2) "Farmers' organization" refers to farmers' cooperatives, associations, or corporations duly registered with appropriate government agencies and which are composed primarily of small agricultural producers, farmers, farmworkers, and other agrarian reform beneficiaries who voluntarily join together to form business enterprises which they themselves own, control and patronize; (3) "Small agricultural producer" refers to any self-employed individual who, by himself or with his family, provides the primary labor requirement of his business enterprise or one who earns at least fifty percent (50%) of his gross income from the payment, proceeds or income of the labor he provides; (4) "Production infrastructure" refers to farm-to-market roads, irrigation, rural electrification, ports, drying areas, public sites, warehouses and other physical facilities used for productivity enhancing services, extension management assistance, training, research and development; (5) "Pre-harvest activities" include, but are not limited to, seedbed and land preparation, planting, weeding, pest and disease control, fertilizer application, water management and harvesting; (6) "Postharvest activities" include, but are not limited to, threshing drying, milling, storing and handling of produce and such other activities as shelling, stripping, winnowing, chipping and washing; (7) "Extension services" refers to the technology transfer provided by the Government and nongovernment organizations to the agricultural sector such as training of farmers, credit assistance and the like; (8) "Transportation infrastructure" includes roads, bridges, ports, airports, and the different modes of transportation using these infrastructure; (9) "Pre-harvest facilities" include, but are not limited to, plows, harrows, tractors, rotavators and sprayers; (10) "Postharvest facilities" include, but are not limited to, threshers, moisture meters, dryers, weighing scales, milling equipment, storage facilities, buying stations, market infrastructure and transportation facilities; (11) "Market infrastructure" refers to facilities such as market buildings, slaughterhouses, holding pens and cold storage used by the farmers in marketing their produce; (12) "Input subsidy" refers to assistance extended by the Government to the farmers in terms of discounted prices of farm inputs such as fertilizer, pesticide and seed; (13) "Agrarian reform credit" includes production or other types of loans used for the acquisition of work animals, farm equipment and machinery, seeds, fertilizers, poultry and livestock feeds and other similar items; acquisition of lands authorized under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL); construction or acquisition of facilities for the production and effective merchandising of agricultural commodities; (14) "Price subsidy" refers to the payment of Government of an additional amount for every unit of output sold by the farmers in the open market; (15) "Farmworker" is a natural person who renders service value as an employee or laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly or pakyaw basis; (16) "Upland farming" refers to planting of upland crops which usually require less water than other crops, as in non-irrigated and elevated farm areas; (17) "Rural bank" refers to banks duly organized under Republic Act Numbered Seven hundred twenty with authority to operate under existing laws; (18) "Cooperative bank" refers to banks whose owners are farmer's associations or cooperatives; (19) "Private development bank" refers to the banks duly organized under Republic Act Numbered Four thousand ninety-three with authority to operate under existing laws; (20) "Banks" collectively used, means the rural banks, cooperative banks, and private development banks as defined in paragraphs 17, 18 and 19, Section 3 of this Act; (21) "Irrigated lands" are agricultural lands which are supported by irrigation services; (22) "Non-irrigated lands" are agricultural lands which lack irrigation systems and are usually rainfed; (23) "Certified seed" refers to seeds that passed the seed certification standards of the Bureau of Plant Industry and which are the progeny of foundation, registered or certified seeds that are so handled as to maintain satisfactory genetic identity and varietal purity; (24) "Good seed" refers to seeds that are the progeny of certified seeds so handled as to maintain a minimum acceptable level of genetic purity and identity and which is selected at the farm level; (25) "Cooperative" refers to a duly registered association of persons, with a common bond of interest, who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a lawful common social economic end, making equitable contributions to the capital required and accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of the undertaking in accordance with universally accepted cooperative principles; (26) "Integrated Pest Management (IPM)" refers to a pest management system which utilizes all suitable methods and techniques in as compatible a manner as possible to maintain the pest population at a level below that causing economically unacceptable damage or loss without endangering the environment; and (27) "Locally available materials" refers to form lumber, gravel and sand, nipa, sawali, old G.I. sheets and other low-cost, indigenous or used materials that could be used as inputs in small infrastructure projects.