Land Tenure and Poverty in Ancestral Domains in the Philippines

Concerns over food insecurity in developing countries are reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030. Given that land plays an important role in the livelihoods of most people in developing countries, food security and poverty reduction cannot be achieved unless issues of access to land, security of tenure, and the capacity to use land productively and in a sustainable manner are addressed. Thus, the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), as facilitated by UN-Habitat, is implementing “Secure Access to Land and Resources (SALaR)” Project through the support of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with the overall goal of improving land and natural resources tenure security of rural smallholder farmers in Uganda, the Philippines, and Laos. In the Philippines, while a number of land laws are being implemented, several gaps need to be addressed to improveothe situation of their intended beneficiaries. Hence, “Improving Tenure Security of Smallholder Farmers in Select Areas in the Philippines” aims to contribute to the goal of SALaR Project. This project is implemented by the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) in partnership with Xavier Science Foundation, Inc. (XSF), with technical and financial support from Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and Germany’s Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).