‘Kadiwa’ in DA-CAR delivers inexpensive, high-quality cuisine to villages

DT | ‘Kadiwa’ in DA-CAR delivers inexpensive, high-quality cuisine to villages | BAGUIO CITY – The “Kadiwa ng Pangulo” event, put together by the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR), kills two birds with one stone. It gives small farmers in this city and Benguet province a market, and it feeds nearby towns with cheap, good food.

In an interview Tuesday, Dr. Aida Pagtan, head of the Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Service (RAFIS), said, “We put this near the gate so that people who live in the area and work at nearby offices and companies can get to it.”

Pagtan was talking about the BPI complex, which is where the DA-CAR is based. About 600 workers from different offices, units, divisions, and special programs live there and love buying food from farmers.

The Kadiwa sa BPI (Bureau of Plant Industry) is also using the idea of the mobile Kadiwa, in which the DA connects farmers’ goods to the market to cut out middlemen.

Pagtan said that small farmers can use the Kadiwa for free, which means that goods don’t have to include the cost of renting a place to sell them.

“Their prices are quite low and beneficial to the buyers, especially now with prices of commodities being high,” she stated.

Foods from the highlands and lowlands are sold, such as fruits, veggies, meat, eggs, fresh and dried fish, and processed foods like rice.

“These are products of farmers in Baguio and Benguet who are assisted by the DA through the AMaD (Agricultural Marketing Division),” said Pagtan. (via PNA)