Agricultural Land

1. Definition

Agricultural Land is a land classification designated for farming, livestock production, forestry, and aquaculture. In the Philippines, agricultural lands are regulated under Republic Act No. 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law) and require formal clearances from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) before they can undergo Land Conversion for residential subdivisions or industrial parks. ([Official Gazette][1])

2. Alternate Names

*   Agricultural Land
*   Farmland
*   Agricultural Property
*   CARP Covered Land

3. Recognized Identities

*   Wikipedia: Agricultural land
*   Wikidata: Q2623351
*   DBpedia: Agricultural_land
*   ProductOntology: http://www.productontology.org/doc/Agricultural_land
*   Wiktionary: farmland
*   Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Agricultural land — Law and legislation — Philippines
*   MeSH: N/A
*   NCBI Taxonomy: N/A
*   AGROVOC: http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_159
*   Google Scholar: agricultural land reclassification DAR conversion zoning Philippines
*   ConceptNet: farmland
*   OpenCyc: N/A

4. Examples of Usage

*   **Banana Plantation Lease:** An agricultural land parcel in Davao leased to an export firm for commercial banana cultivation.
*   **Agricultural Land Philippines:** The main canonical article details the land laws, CARP regulations, reclassifications, and DAR transfer clearances.

5. Typical Scenarios

*   **Reclassifying farmland for housing:** A developer purchases raw agricultural land and applies to the local LGU and DAR for land reclassification and conversion.
*   **Auditing an agricultural title:** A buyer reviews a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) to confirm if the land is classified as agricultural and holds agrarian reform restrictions.

6. Key Strategies

*   Cross-reference land use laws and conversion processes with the main Agricultural Land Philippines article.
*   Check local municipal zoning maps to see if the agricultural land lies within designated urban expansion corridors.

7. Safety & Security Measures

*   Ensure the land is not subject to active tenant claims or coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program before acquisition.
*   Verify that any transfers of agricultural titles hold a DAR clearance certificate signed by the regional director.

8. Historical Context

Historically, Philippine agricultural lands were managed under Spanish and American hacienda systems. Post-independence, the government introduced land reform policies, culminating in the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (RA 6657) under President Corazon Aquino. The reform aimed to distribute land to tenant-farmers, establishing strict rules to prevent the arbitrary conversion of productive crop lands into commercial estates.

9. Common Challenges

*   **Food Security Concerns:** The rapid conversion of rice lands into suburban subdivisions threatens national food security and reduces crop outputs.
*   **Indivisible Title Issues:** Many distributed agricultural lands (CLOAs) are held collectively, making individual sales and mortgaging highly complex.

10. Related Topics

*   [[Agricultural Land Philippines]]
*   [[Raw Land Philippines]]
*   [[Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)]]
*   [[Land Conversion]]

11. References

1.  [Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines](http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/)