Comprehensive agrarian reform law: an assessment of the effects of exemption of fishponds

This study intends to determine the possible effects of the exemption of fishponds from Republic Act No. 6657, otherwise known as Comprehensive Agarian Reform Law [CARL], as amended by Republic Act No. 7881. The results of the study revealed that the exemption of fishponds from CARL is a positive development in the aquaculture industry. Aquaculture is not a land-based venture. Hence, there is a need to draw the line between agricultural activity and fishpond or prawn farming activity. In aquaculture, land is only incidental to the raising of fish and other aquatic species. Subjecting fishponds and prawn farms to agrarian reform might lead to serious problems such as conflict over water sources, difficulty of dividing large compartments which require earth-moving, sourcing of capital and other inputs, and the possible adoption of intensive culture systems to maximize the farm area which would result to further environmental deterioration. Forty percent of respondent farmworkers had no idea what the CARL is. Ninety percent were in favor of the exemption, for the reason that the existing terms of employment provide a stable income every month. Farmworker's perceptions on the effects of exemption on their income and general welfare ranged from ambivalence to resigned acquiescence on the exemption. Fishpond owners (100 percent) were for the exemption of fishponds and welcomed R.A. No. 7881 as an amendment to CARL. However, the pending status of the exemption of fishponds from agrarian reform has created an environment of uncertainty among the owners. Since fishponds have low collateral value, investments in fishpond production were observed to be minimal. The traditional/extensive method of production, which requires low investment, was observed to be preferred in the three regions surveyed over the more capital-intensive methods of production. For the three regions covered in the study, R.A. No. 7881 exempts 50,305 hectares of privately owned/titled fishponds. With the exemption of fishponds and prawn farms from the CARL, it is expected that the prevailing employment terms and production trends will continue