Farmers' produce will be on sale in various points in Metro Manila and other parts of the country as the Department of Agriculture (DA) rolls out KADIWA ni Ani at Kita.
KADIWA, which stands for “Katuwang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita”, is a marketing strategy of the Department which directly connects food producers to consumers, thereby lessening the cost of the products up to 20 percent than those at the market.
Getting Started
The initiative started off at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) last March 25-26 as fresh vegetables and other food products were displayed and sold for the residents of Quezon City.
Dar has also instructed the heads of DA agencies in the National Capital Region to identify available spaces in their compound for the establishment of their respective “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” stalls to provide more options for the public to access affordable products.
The agri exec enjoins other farmers to participate in KADIWA which will be carried out every week through the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS).
“Kindly coordinate with your provincial and regional DA offices for them to link you with AMAS, and together let us provide affordable and accessible food for our countrymen,” Dar said.
Linking with LGUs
Under its Distribution and Marketing System, there will be two different modes where DA will find suppliers to the food requirements of the residents of areas affected by the imposed quarantine.
Under mode 1, DA will directly link local government units (LGUs) of metro areas to food producers and facilitate delivery. For mode 2, the Department will link LGUs and producers to deliver items to identify drop-off points. For both modes, the LGUs will sort and pack the items for delivery to households.
“We are ready to assist our LGUs in metro areas to ensure our stable food supply throughout the country. As much as possible, let’s do it within our communities where supplies are already available,” Dar explained.
This is also part of DA's effort to forge stronger ties with the LGUs to ensure that households affected by the enhanced community quarantine will have access to food supply.
Moving Forward
To roll out immediate interventions for food production and availability, food accessibility and affordability, and food price stabilization, the Department has requested for a Php32 billion supplemental fund for the expeditious implementation of the “Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat Kontra sa COVID-19” or ALPAS COVID-19, on top of the existing agriculture programs.
From the requested additional budget, Php1 billion will be used for upscaling KADIWA ni Ani at Kita, including production monitoring, provincial services on wheels, transportation and trucking services of produce from source to the Metropolis, and the provision for KADIWA on Wheels.