A Case Analysis of the Bungkalan Practice in an Upland Community From the Perspective of Agroecology Movement

Abstract

The farmers have the highest poverty incidence among all sectors in the Philippines. They have also been greatly affected be the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the farmers of Lupang Ramos in Dasmariñas City, Cavite were able to get through the two years under the pandemic with enough food supply for their community. They point to agroecology as a social movement as the key factor. However, their community is still facing a decades-old land dispute which has threatened their access to land where they live and farm. The study therefore aims to analyze how the farmers in Lupang Ramos used agroecology to address the issues faced by their community. Particularly, it aims to describe issues on land tenure and food production, and the current agroecology practices being used by the local organization in the bungkalan (communal farm system) to bring about positive change while focusing on agroecology as a social movement. The study was a descriptive research, particularly a case study, which gathered data using key informant interviews and documents review. The results showed that the farmers are still facing threats of eviction with the distribution of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards still and the National Grid Corporation Project still pending. Also, there were three aspects of agroecology as a social movement that was harnessed by the farmers through the bungkalan campaign of their organization Katipunan ng mga Lehitimong Magsasaka at Mamamayan sa Lupang Ramos (KASAMA-LR), the transformation of dominant agricultural systems through organic farming, focus on food producers issues and rights through legal and other forms of mobilizations to assert their right to land and farm inputs, and collective action through the mobilization of their community and external organizations and institutions. With this, it can be concluded that the bungkalan campaign embodied agroecology as a social movement which resulted in the increase of food production and access to land. It is recommended that a quantitative study on the improvement of food production after the bungkalan be conducted as well as the other aspects of agroecology to deepen the understanding of this field and help improve the situation of other farmers.

Keywords: agroecology, social movement, sustainable agriculture, collective action