A Department of Agriculture (DA) project, dubbed “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” has been helping Palaweño farmers find markets for their products during the quarantine period.
Kadiwa is a market system that sells agricultural goods at affordable prices to help poor Filipino families.
DA-Palawan Research Extension Service (PRES) station chief Milagros Cacal said Tuesday that this market system that was revived in 2019 was scaled up this year to support farmers in selling their products to accessible outlets for consumers.
“Yong Kadiwa hindi lang nag-start ngayon during the COVID-19, matagal na siya. Kaso lang na-revive nitong 2019 tapos ngayon na-scale up — ibig sabihin pinalawak, mayroong outlet, online, may on wheels tapos pinalawak para yong produkto ng mga farmer na di nakukuha sa field ay tinulungan sila para ma-i-market at para maka-access yong consumers natin ng fresh at saka low ang cost niya. Kasi kung fresh ay di naka-stock, halos araw-araw, every other day,” she said.
Cacal said that the Kadiwa started its operation on April 8 in Puerto Princesa with the Palawan DA Multipurpose Cooperative. The cooperative took over the operation on May 18 with the guidance of the local agriculture office to report the volume of products sold, sources, and gross sales.
She said their outlet offers different agricultural products such as vegetables, poultry, and dried fish from different farmers in the towns of Rizal, Bataraza, Taytay, Dumaran, Puerto Princesa, Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, and Sofronio Española.
The Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita program of the DA is accessible also on market on-wheels and through online orders known as eKadiwa.
Cacal said that the DA-PRES manages the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita outlet in their station while the City Agriculture Office (CAO) takes over the Kadiwa on wheels that roams in different barangays to sell agricultural products.
Cacal said that the program has helped farmers earn 20 to 30 percent from the farm gate prices of their products.
“So far, okay naman yong kita kasi syempre alangan naman na pag kinuha nila na farm gate price ay hindi nila papatungan pero not much compared doon sa talagang business ng iba kasi ang coop naman. Maganda naman, kumita sila as much as 20 to 30 percent of kanilang investment from farm gate,” she said.
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