The Lives of Local Filipino Farmers

Pre-Colonial Period (900 - 1560s)

• Farming System:
  • Reliance on Sweden agriculture (intensive permanent agriculture).
  • Main crops: rice, millet, bananas, various root crops.

Spanish Era (1521 - 1898)

• Land Ownership:
  • Shift from commonwealth ownership to private ownership.
  • Municipal residents were granted land for cultivation, tax-free.

American Period (1898 - 1935)

• Social Unrest:
  • Tenancy issues caused social unrest and revolts among farmers.
• Land Policies:
  • Americans introduced land reforms to alleviate tenant conditions.
  • Aimed to distribute land ownership to a larger number of Filipino tenants and farmers.

Japanese Period (1942 - 1945)

• Control of Land:
  • Japanese forces took control over central Luzon.
  • Landlords who supported Japanese lost their land to peasants.
  • Emergence of peasant and workers' organizations.
  • Many peasants joined the anti-Japanese resistance group, Hukbalahap (Huk).

Present Day

• Agrarian Reform:
  • Duterte's administration plans to place much public land, including military reserves, under agrarian reform.
  • 400 hectares of agricultural land designated for the agrarian reform program.
• Agricultural Technology:
  • Modern farming technologies are aiding Filipino farmers in improving efficiency and productivity.