BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) – Cordillera will shortly dispatch its “Kadiwa on Wheels” to deliver an additional 2.5 tons of fresh highland vegetables to Abra towns of Abra which was ravaged by recent earthquakes.
Aida Pagtan, chief of the DA Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Service (RAFIS), said their Agriculture Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) has decided to travel back to Abra with their “Kadiwa on Wheels.”
The Kadiwa on Wheels is a joint project of the DA-Cordillera and the Agricultural Programs Coordinating Office of Abra, assisted by municipal agriculture offices.
Pagtan said new batches of vegetables would to all 27 towns of Abra in the next few days to make available low-priced farm products. Last Friday’s trip served the towns of Tayum, Lagangilang, San Isidro, Pilar, Villaviciosa and Luba, The supplies, however, may not be enough to cater to all,” she added.
Two trucks were rolled out by the regional office that brought assorted highland vegetables from the Benguet AgpiPinoy Trading Center in La Trinidad, Benguet to Abra that were sold at wholesale prices, the same as the prices at the trading facility.
On August 1, DA-Ilocos Kadiwa on Wheels would also go to Abra to bring cheap assorted seafood products, Pagtan shared, noting that the clamor for cheap products in Abra is high.
“They were even asking if we will have a permanent Kadiwa store where they can return to buy cheap products,” she said. The 2,666 kg. of assorted vegetables — potato, bell pepper, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, sayote, cucumber, and lemon, were sold out on Friday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during his first State of the Nation Address, said he would continue the Kadiwa program, which has been proven to be effective and helpful to the public. The concept of the Kadiwa was popularized during the time of his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and was revived during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.
