Strategic Agricultural Zones under RA 8435

Policy and AFMA mandate framework

The State policy is to ensure that all sectors and all regions receive an optimum opportunity to develop through the rational and sustainable use of resources peculiar to each area.
The policy aims to maximize agricultural productivity, promote efficiency and equity, and accelerate modernization of agriculture and fishery sectors.
The Order recognizes that, through Republic Act No. 8435 (the Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Act (AFMA)), areas identified and included in the NPAAAD are prime resource endowments for agriculture and fishery modernization.
The Order designates the prime lands selected from the NPAAAD—adopted through a resolution of the Sangguniang Bayan—as Strategic Agriculture and Fishery Development Zones (SAFDZ).
The SAFDZ is declared as the designated food basket of the country and as the integrating framework for planning and allocation of national financial and economic resources and priority investments for convergence programs for national food security and poverty alleviation.
The Order implements the legal mandate under Section 9 of RA 8435 requiring the Department of Agriculture (DA) to include development of identified economic zones and free ports, and to establish and delineate SAFDZ based on sound resource accounting and full consultation with DAR, DTI, DENR, DOST, HLURB, concerned provincial and municipal LGUs, organized farmers and fisherfolk groups, the private sector, and affected communities.

Defined terms governing SAFDZ and NPAAAD

Agrarian Reform Community means a barangay at the minimum or a cluster of contiguous barangays with a critical mass of farmers or farm workers, focusing on land tenure improvement and effective delivery of support services.
Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Plan (AFMP) means a medium and long-term comprehensive plan focusing on five (5) major concerns: food security; poverty alleviation and social equity; income enhancement and profitability (especially for farmers and fisherfolks); global competitiveness; and sustainability.
Agriculture Sector means the sector engaged in cultivation, planting, growing fruit trees, raising livestock/poultry/fish, including harvesting and marketing of farm products and other farm activities and practices.
Agricultural Land Use Conversion means changing the current use of agricultural land into some other use.
Agricultural Lands means lands devoted to or suitable for cultivation/production and related farming practices, by natural or juridical persons, and not classified by law as mineral land, forest or timber land, or national park, or residential, commercial, or industrial land.
Development Convergence Areas are development planning areas characterized by convergence of production, marketing, and processing services and facilities, composed of clusters of contiguous agricultural and fishery areas for adjoining municipalities and provinces to catalyze modernization.
Fishery Sector means production, growing, harvesting, processing, marketing, developing, conserving, and managing aquatic resources and fisheries areas.
Integrated Development Plan (IDP) means the modernization plan for agriculture and fishery sectors required in each SAFDZ included in a development convergence area, covering production, processing, investment, marketing, human resources, and environmental protection.
Irrigable Lands mean lands with characteristics justifying the operation of an irrigation system.
Irrigated Lands mean lands serviced by natural irrigation or irrigation facilities, including lands where water is not readily available due to existing irrigation facilities needing rehabilitation/upgrading, or where irrigation water is not available year-round.
Land Use Plan means a document with policies, maps, and illustrations reflecting the community-desired population distribution and future land allocation pattern aligned with social and economic objectives, identifying location, character, extent of land resources, and the process/criteria used.
Land Use means the manner of utilizing land, including allocation, development, and management.
Marginal Lands are portions of alienable and disposable lands excluded from SAFDZ/NPAAAD delineation due to natural limitations and low productivity that cannot be economically improved by modern technologies and whose continued use causes serious land and environmental degradation.
Model Farms are efficiently managed contiguous areas of agricultural land or fisheries with diversified cropping/integrated farming/fishery systems as demonstration centers, where the DA may designate agrarian reform communities (ARCs) and other areas within SAFDZ suitable for economic scale production, and where farmer-landowners have an option to enter into management agreements with corporate entities with proven competence and access to markets, consistent with existing laws.
NPAAAD means agricultural areas identified by the DA through BSWM, in coordination with NAMRIA, to ensure efficient utilization for agriculture and agro-industrial development and promote sustainable growth; it covers irrigated areas; irrigable lands already covered by irrigation projects with firm funding commitments; alluvial plain land highly suitable for agriculture (irrigated or not); agro-industrial croplands or lands planted to industrial crops supporting existing infrastructure and enterprises; highlands/elevations of 500 meters or above suitable for semi-temperate and high-value crops; ecologically fragile agricultural lands whose conversion results in serious environmental degradation; and mangrove areas and fish sanctuaries.
Premature Conversion of Agricultural Land means undertaking any development activity modifying or altering the physical characteristics of agricultural lands to render them suitable for non-agricultural purposes without an approved order of conversion from DAR.
SAFDZ means areas within NPAAAD identified for production, agro-processing and marketing to develop and modernize agriculture and fisheries, with government support, in an environmentally and socio-culturally sound manner.

Approved areas, official lists, and coverage rules

All areas within NPAAAD and those covered by the approved resolution for adoption of SAFDZ by the Sangguniang Bayan are officially accepted as areas for investment and development for AFMA-relevant programs and projects.
The Order establishes an Official List of SAFDZ and an Official List of NPAAAD identifying the municipalities comprising NPAAAD and the barangays in each municipality with their respective resolutions for SAFDZ adoption.
The corresponding SAFDZ and NPAAAD maps—reviewed and approved by the Office of the Governor, Office of the Municipal/City Mayor, DA-RFU, BSWM, and NAMRIA—form part of the Order as the Official SAFDZ and NPAAAD Maps.
Municipalities/cities and provinces and relevant departments involved in convergence programs must be furnished copies of the officially published SAFDZ and NPAAAD maps.
Finalization of the maps must be done by BSWM in coordination with NAMRIA.
Municipalities/cities unable to submit their Sangguniang Bayan/city resolution adopting SAFDZ at the time of issuance of the Order must submit within six (6) months from the Order’s effectivity.
The implementation of SAFDZ programs and projects is contingent on the final submission of the required resolution and the corresponding SAFDZ Integrated Development Plan, where applicable.
Areas not covered by the convergence zone and SAFDZ become part of the NPAAAD.

Convergence planning, IDs, AFMPs, and priorities

The Regional SAFDZ Committee, in coordination with concerned LGUs/municipalities, identifies and establishes Development Convergence Areas for adjoining and contiguous SAFDZ areas with similar commodity and land use capability.
Municipalities/cities whose SAFDZ are component parts of the convergence areas must jointly prepare the IDP.
Each municipality/city within the convergence areas must prepare its own AFMP, incorporating the IDP of its respective SAFDZ.
Aggregation of Development Convergence Areas must consider multi-area projects/programs crossing administrative/political and watershed boundaries.
Municipalities whose SAFDZ are not part of the convergence areas must prepare an AFMP without the IDP, treating SAFDZ as a municipal “special food basket” supporting local food security needs.
The AFMP must be prepared for each municipality, and municipal/city AFMPs are aggregated to provincial, regional, and national levels.
The IDP must be aggregated to the regional level and submitted to the DA Planning Service (PS) for incorporation into the national AFMP.
The Regional AFMP and IDP must consider the Regional Physical Framework Plan prepared by NEDA to ensure proper complementation of regional development efforts.
LGUs are enjoined to select and prioritize barangays earlier entitled and included in SAFDZ locations that support successful agriculture and fishery modernization investments and have strategic value for improved and sustained environment for agro-industrialization.
The Governor coordinates with Municipal/City Mayors to select five (5) to ten (10) priority barangays to be included in Development Convergence Areas and in the preparation of the IDP based on importance, strategic location, and comparative advantage.
The selected priority barangays are submitted by the concerned Provincial Governor to Regional SAFDZ Committees for evaluation and endorsement to the National SAFDZ Committee for inclusion in national modernization priority plans and programs.

Marginal lands planning process

Marginal agricultural and fishery areas within alienable and disposable lands not included in NPAAAD and SAFDZ must be set aside, evaluated, and planned for off-farm and non-farm livelihood activities, other viable land uses, value-adding agri-related infrastructures, and environmentally sound and acceptable non-agricultural uses.
A Marginal Land Use Plan must be formulated through an inter-agency effort chaired by DA.
The inter-agency Marginal Land Use Plan effort includes members composed of NAFC, FPA, BFAR, PFDA, NEDA, DTI, DOST, DAR, DILG, DENR, DTI, DOT, NAMRIA, HLURB, NGOs, LGUs, representatives of affected farmers, the private sector, and other stakeholders.
The economic use of marginal areas must be prepared to enhance rather than displace existing marginalized farmers, including their economic and social opportunities.
The plan must include formulation and implementation of programs and projects for basic needs/rural non-farm employment and provision of safety nets for small and subsistence farmers cultivating these marginal lands.

SAFDZ committees, duties, guidelines, budgets

The National SAFDZ Committee is reorganized as an inter-agency and multi-sectoral body composed of representatives from DA-Planning Service, DA bureaus and attached agencies, DAR, DENR, DILG, NEDA, DPWH, DOST, DOT, DTI, HLURB, LBP, NAMRIA, DOTC, League of Municipal Mayors and Provincial Governors, other government agencies, the private sector, NGOs, POs, farmers/fisherfolks, and other relevant institutions and stakeholders as required.
The National SAFDZ Committee is chaired by the DA Undersecretary for Operations and co-chaired by the BSWM Director, with the PS and BSWM providing Secretariat Support.
The National SAFDZ Committee is replicated in all regions through Regional SAFDZ Committees.
Each Regional SAFDZ Committee is chaired by the Regional Director of the DA-RFU and has members from the same departments/offices included in the National SAFDZ Committee that are represented in the region.
The SAFDZ Committees assist the Department in coordinating implementation of AFMA provisions on SAFDZ and NPAAAD.
The committees coordinate monitoring of land use changes within critical lands in the SAFDZ and prescribe policy recommendations to optimize prime lands.
The committees provide technical assistance in preparing and implementing AFMP and IDP.
The committees review and recommend SAFDZ IDP and corresponding investment programs.
The committees assist LGUs and DA in integrating SAFDZ with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and corresponding Zoning Ordinance.
The committees monitor and evaluate implementation of land use reclassification and conversion of lands within the SAFDZ.
The committees review and formulate strategies for development and implementation of SAFDZ convergence areas.
The committees recommend organizational mechanisms handling applications, evaluation, and approval of reclassification of lands within SAFDZs.
The National SAFDZ Committee must assist DA in formulating supplemental guidelines for implementation of this Order within one (1) month from its effectivity.
The supplemental guidelines must identify specific functions for the National and Regional SAFDZ Committees.
Budgetary requirements for operating the SAFDZ Committees are provided for and sourced from the DA budget.

Monitoring of land-use changes and LGU/LGC interplay

Changes in critical land uses in SAFDZ—particularly irrigated lands—must be monitored and reported by the Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO) to the Municipal Mayor.
A concerned citizen in the locality where such changes occurred may be deputized to report to the Provincial Land Use Technical Committee (PLUTC) and to provide a copy to the concerned Municipal Mayor.
The Mayor evaluates and endorses the information with proper recommendations to the Regional SAFDZ Committee for further evaluation and endorsement to the National SAFDZ Committee for appropriate action.
The Order explains the applicability of Section 20 of the Local Government Code (LGC) on reclassification limits for land use conversion of agricultural lands (including both marginal and prime lands).
The Order explains that Section 9 of AFMA limits conversion of specific land use within approved SAFDZ.
Under AFMA, reduction of reclassification and conversion limit to five (5) percent within a five (5) year moratorium applies to irrigated rice, irrigable lands with firm funding commitment, and lands currently used or having potential for growing high value crops.
SAFDZ lands not devoted to the restricted land uses enumerated above, lands within NPAAAD, and agricultural lands excluded from NPAAAD are covered by Section 20 of the LGC.

Penalties, fines, and administrative consequences

The Order imposes an idle land tax on irrigated agricultural lands that become idle and unproductive.
Any person or juridical entity who knowingly or deliberately causes any irrigated agricultural lands seven (7) hectares or larger, whether contiguous or not within the protected areas for agricultural development, to lie idle and unproductive for a period exceeding one (1) year (unless due to force majeure) must pay PHP 3,000.00 per hectare per year.
The violator must put back such lands to productive agricultural use.
If continued agricultural inactivity, unless due to force majeure, exceeds two (2) years, the land is subject to escheat proceedings.
Any person found guilty of premature or illegal conversion is penalized with imprisonment of two (2) to six (8) years, or a fine equivalent to 100% of the government’s investment cost, or both, at the discretion of the court.
The penalty includes an accessory penalty of forfeiture of the land and any improvement thereon for premature or illegal conversion.
After determining in an administrative proceeding that a violation of RA 8435 has been committed, the DAR may impose:
- Cancellation or withdrawal of the authorization for land conversion; and
- Blacklisting or automatic disapproval of pending and subsequent conversion applications that the individual, group, or entity may file with DAR.

Appeals and separability

An affected party, concerned individual, group, or entity may appeal actions related to the implementation of the Order to the National SAFDZ Committee through the Regional SAFDZ Committee.
The National SAFDZ Committee evaluates and makes a recommendation to the DA Secretary, who makes the final action on the appeal.
If any provision is declared unconstitutional or null and void, the validity of the other provisions remains unaffected.