An Assessment Of The Impact Of Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Programme (BIARSP)
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The Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Programme (BIARSP) is a joint effort between the governments of Belgium and the Philippines to make the agrarian reform agenda succeed. It aims to alleviate poverty, improve agricultural productivity and uplift the well-being of the rural low-income communities. BIARSP was launched in 1998 in 74 selected Agrarian Reform Communities in Regions 7 and 9. The Programme is winding up its activities and expected to be concluded in 2007. The Programme’s intervention in the target zones is focused on the following components: Agricultural Productivity (AP), Basic Education Services (ED), Primary Health Care (PH), Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation (WATSAN) Services and Creation of a Technical Pool. The impact assessment study was triggered by the desire of the BIARSP Project Steering Committee to assess the implementation effects of the Programme, particularly in Phases I and II, on the farmers and other beneficiaries living in the target Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs). The study also aimed to evaluate whether the gains made by the programme can be sustained and guaranteed after the termination of BIARSP on August 2007 and the conclusion of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in 2008.
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