Republic of the Philippine  
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
19TH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ________
___________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Honorable Michael L. Romero 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines as an agriculture-based country has  29.187 million hectares 
that are devoted to intensive cultivation for  farm production. About 4.27 
million hectares are devoted for rice production, and the rest are for other 
agricultural commodities such as corn, coconut, sugarcane and high value 
commercial crops.  
However, these Philippine farms, particularly our rice farms have  fragmented, 
narrow, irregularly-shaped and small farm sizes which  are inherent 
structural defects directly contributing for  unsuitable farm mechanization, 
inefficient irrigation and  lack of economies of scale resulting to low farm 
productivity and income, thereby poverty remains in rural agrarian sector1. 
As agricultural mechanization becomes now the center-piece program of the 
national government, with P5 billion appropriations for the provision of rice 
machineries and equipment for the next six years under Rice Tariffcation Law 
(R.A. No. 11203), these farms need to be immediately levelled, restructured or 
reconstructed  for efficient mechanization and irrigation. This is to attain the 
objective of farm mechanization   to lower down  the cost of production, at the 
same time increasing farm productivity and farmers income.  
Based on the study of PhilRice and IRRI, a well-levelled farm land shall 
increase water use efficiency by up to 15% as it improves the timeliness and 
efficiency of land preparation, sowing, and harvesting through more even 
wetting and drying in the field. This results in a more uniform crop at harvest 
and better grain quality. It also improves water coverage thus reduces weeds 
by up to 40% and reduces weeding time by 15-20 days per hectare; and  
improves planting efficiency by reducing time of planting. Level fields require 
1 Source:  End of Term Report of Sec. Virgilio de los Reyes 
 Sugarcane RoadMap 2020, SRA 
August 2, 2022
1:31 pm
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50% less seeds when direct seeding and also increase opportunity to use other 
techniques such as seed drills and mechanical transplanting. Ultimately, land 
leveling will increased rice yields by up to 15-20%.   
 
Countries like Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan have been implementing 
farm land leveling and reconstruction which greatly contributes to increase 
farm productivity and income.  
 
Approval of the bill is earnestly requested. 
 
 
 
 
 
MICHAEL L. ROMERO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Republic of the Philippine  
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
19TH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ________ 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Honorable Michael L. Romero 
___________________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT 
TO PROMOTE AND ACCELERATE FARM LAND LEVELING 
AND RECONSTRUCTION IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 
AREAS OF THE COUNTRY 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representative of the Philippines 
in Congress Assembled: 
SECTION 1.  TITLE. -  This Act shall be known as the “Farm Land Leveling 
and Reconstruction Act”  
SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY- It is hereby declared a policy of the 
State to achieve modern farms and food security by increasing farm 
productivity, reduce postharvest losses and improve product quality and 
competitiveness through complete farm mechanization and efficient land 
management. 
In the pursuance of this policy, the State shall promote and accelerate farm 
land leveling and reconstruction in all agricultural areas of the country in 
order to ensure efficient farm mechanization, irrigation, transport and 
economies of scale. 
SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS- The following terms are defined, as 
follows:  
(a)
“Farm Land Leveling and Reconstruction” refers to the process of
restructuring the farm area by maintaining smooth and/or uniform
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elevation of the soil surface by scraping high points  or (soil mounds) 
and moving soil to low points (depressions), to increase the sizes of 
farm plots which will  results to a uniform distribution of irrigation 
across the field and increases the efficiency in the use of production 
inputs and machines and higher yields.   
 
(b) 
Contiguous farming refers to a farming system comprising the 
development and organization of parcels of adjoining or adjacent 
agricultural lands with a minimum total area of 50-ha for the 
synchronized production of a particular crop such as but not 
limited to rice, corn, sugarcane, coconut and high value 
commercial crops utilizing agricultural mechanization technology. 
It shall include the necessary physical and institutional 
infrastructures. Physical infrastructures include the overall design 
layout of the area (e.g. field plot size, irrigation canal, farm drain, 
farm ditch, farm roads, postharvest facilities, etc.) while 
institutional infrastructures consist of the social base by which 
contiguous farming scheme shall operate. 
 
(c) 
Farm Development Plan refers to a plan containing the right and 
appropriate kind/s of crops, livestock and fisheries to be planted or 
raised  in the farm, as  well as its irrigation, farm-to-market 
roads/farm access roads, agricultural and fisheries machineries 
and equipment, postharvest and agro-processing facilities to be 
established, constructed, operated and maintained which will  
ensure  sustainable development, modernization  and increase farm 
production, productivity and competitiveness.  It also include the 
improvement and maintenance of agricultural spatial and bio-
physical conditions in these farms to ensure accessibility, 
economies of scale of agricultural machineries and equipment, 
optimum utilization of lands, improvement of plant rooting and 
prevent soil erosion and flooding.  
 
SECTION 4.  NATIONAL FARM LAND LEVELING AND RECONSTRUCTION 
PROGRAM- There is hereby established the “National Farm Land Leveling and 
Reconstruction Program”, herein referred to as the Program with 
comprehensive set of objectives, targets and holistic approach in promoting 
and accelerating farm land leveling and reconstruction in all agricultural 
production areas of the country.  The Program shall be integrated and be 
made consistent and complement with the Agriculture and Fisheries 
Modernization Plan, Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Program, Land 
Consolidation,  Contiguous or Block Farming Program. 
 
The Program shall: 


 
a) Provide assistance to farmers  and land owners to level and 
reconstruct their farm lands  towards  attaining suitable shapes 
and sizes for efficient irrigation, mechanization, transport and 
economies of scale, as well as farm development planning; 
 
b) Provide and/or upgrade the facilities and equipment including 
land laser leveler machines of the Department of Agriculture, 
Local Government Units and State Colleges and Universities; 
 
c) Establish 
and/or 
strengthen 
research, 
development 
and 
extension on farm leveling and reconstruction;  
 
d) Deployment of Agricultural and Bio systems Engineers at the 
municipal levels to provide professional and technical services in 
the design and supervision of farm levelling and reconstruction 
projects and the preparation and implementation of farm 
development plans. 
 
SECTION 5. COVERAGE- The implementation of farm land leveling and 
reconstruction program shall cover all irrigated rice lands served by the 
national and communal irrigation systems and small scale irrigation systems 
by the National Irrigation Administration, Bureau of Soils and Water 
Management, Department of Agriculture and Local Government Units, 
including corn and sugarcane production areas. 
 
SECTION 6.   IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES AND PARTNER AGENCIES. — 
The   Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE) of the 
Department of Agriculture  shall be the implementing agency of the Program. 
It shall tap the assistance, expertise and resources of the following agencies, 
such as the Philippine Rice Research Institute(PhilRice),  Bureau of Soils and 
Water Management (BSWM), Philippine Center for Post-Harvest Development 
and Mechanization (PhilMech), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), and the 
National Irrigation Administration(NIA).  
 
The BAFE shall likewise collaborate with and secure the technical support 
and assistance of other departments and their attached agencies and 
corporations to support farm land leveling and reconstruction such as the 
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of the Interior and Local 


Government (DILG) and the Agricultural Engineering Groups of the Local 
Government Units. 
 
In order for BAFE to effectively carry out this task and its functions under 
Republic Act No. 10601, the BAFE is hereby transformed and reconstituted 
as a line bureau of the Department of Agriculture. Its organizational structure 
shall consist of a head office, regional agricultural and fisheries engineering 
offices, provincial agricultural and fisheries engineering offices and where and 
when necessary, municipal and city agricultural and fisheries engineering 
offices. The existing Regional Agricultural Engineering Division of DA Regional 
Field Offices are hereby transferred to BAFE.  These BAFE field offices shall 
complement and/or augment the services of the Provincial, City and 
Municipal Agricultural and Bio systems Engineering Units of the Local 
Government Units. 
 
The Department of Agrarian Reform shall integrate farm leveling and 
reconstruction as a requirement in land distribution and support services 
program under CARP Law.  
 
SECTION 7. ASSISTANCE TO FARMERS AND INCENTIVES-  Farmers 
registered under the RSBA of the Department of Agriculture shall be given 
priority for  farm leveling and reconstruction assistance for free. Moreover, 
leveled and reconstructed farms shall be given priority  as recipients   of the 
farm machinery assistance program and other production inputs subsidy  of 
the government.  
 
SECTION 8. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS –  The Bureau of 
Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering in collaboration with PhilRice, BAFS, 
Professional Regulatory Board of Agricultural and Bio systems Engineering 
and the Philippine Society of Agricultural and Bio systems Engineers shall 
develop and enforce  farm land leveling and reconstruction  standards which 
shall form part of the Philippine Agricultural and Bio systems Engineering 
Standards (PABES); 
 


SECTION  9. RESEARCH,  TRAINING AND EXTENSION- The Philippine Rice 
Research Institute, BAR,  Agricultural Training Institute in coordination and 
collaboration with State Colleges and Universities  and Technical Education 
and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and  LGUs shall undertake 
research, training and extension program among farmers  to  adopt farm land 
leveling reconstruction as  well as on water management, proper irrigation, 
mechanized farming  and good agricultural practices.  The TESDA shall 
provide scholarships to farm levelers,  farmers, farm workers and trainers.   
 
SECTION   10. IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS. — Within 
sixty (60) days from the date of effectivity of this Act, the DA, in consultation 
with various stakeholders shall formulate the rules and regulations for the 
proper implementation of this Act. 
 
SECTION 11. FUNDING- The funding requirement for the implementation of 
the program shall be incorporated in the  budget of BAFE under the  General 
Appropriations Act. 
 
The amount of P1,000,000,000 shall be initially appropriated for the 
implementation of the program.  
 
SECTION 12. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. - If any part or provision of this Act 
is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected 
thereby shall remain in full force and effect.  
 
SECTION 13. REPEALING CLAUSE. - All laws, decrees, executive orders and 
other administrative issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with 
the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.  
 
SECTION 14. EFFECTIVITY. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) 
newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines. 
 
Approved.