Abstract

Information Technology for Development Volume 3 Number 1 . © 1988 Oxford University Press. Settlers' Accounts Management Information System for the Philippines Willia m T. Torre s Development Academy of the Philippines Angelo Ramon Tanchoco Rizal, Philippines I. Background As of 1984, the Ministry of Agrarian Reform (MAR) estimated the coverage of the agrarian reform program of the Philippine government to be approximately 2.17 million hectares of agricultural land, affecting the lives of some 1.05 million beneficiary families and 56,000 erstwhile landholders. The ability of the Ministry to effectively deliver vital government services to this clientele depends to a large extent on the existence of an effective information management system to capture and provide access to field data. Such an information system would enable Ministry officials to monitor the performance of current programs and address the decision and action areas related to the agrarian reform program, which include: the transfer of land rights and ownership to farmer-beneficiaries, the extension of agricultural credit and the collection of loans, the turnover of settlement administration to the local government units, and the expansion of the program to cover land planted to crops other than rice and corn (e.g., sugar and coconut lands).