FILIPINO farmers and fisherfolk have earned at least P6 billion by selling their produce to local government units (LGUs) that directly procured their constituents’ food requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
During a webinar organized by the BusinessMirror and Fiera de Manila Inc., Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Y. Evangelista disclosed that about 442 LGUs nationwide have bought P6 billion worth of farm produce.
The transactions were made possible through the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) flagship market-linkage program Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita. The program seeks to “ensure that food commodities are made available and accessible in high consumer demand areas, particularly among the low-income families.”
The program, Evangelista explained, “harnesses” private-sector participation, capacity enhancement of farmer cooperatives and associations and engaging community organizations’ participation in the food supply distribution system.
To date, the DA has expanded the Kadiwa program into four modalities to cater to consumers through the most convenient methods to them: Kadiwa retail selling, Kadiwa on wheels, Kadiwa online and e-Kadiwa.
“The program aims to make accessible and available quality agri-fishery products, such as rice, fish poultry and livestock products, fruits and vegetables, and other basic commodities at affordable prices to the urban areas,” said Evangelista.
Evangelista pointed out that farm goods sold through the Kadiwa program are 20 percent cheaper than prevailing public market prices.
To date, Evangelista said the Kadiwa program has served nearly 2 million households nationwide with 23,251 farmers and fisherfolk benefitting from the direct market access linkage.
She added that about 4,453 agri-fishery cooperatives nationwide have participated through the various Kadiwa modalities.
Furthermore, the Kadiwa program also established a food traceability system as consumers would be able to determine where the goods came from and the safety and quality standards they underwent, Evangelista said.
Also during the webinar, Cold Chain Association of the Philippines President Anthony S. Dizon emphasized that the problems brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic to the agriculture sector would not be resolved within the calendar year.
These problems, he noted, would linger and would require drastic and long-term actions to be solved.
Dizon explained that internal factors affect the food supply chain, such as lack of demand data to guide planting price, no post-harvest preparation facilities, and improper packaging and handling, which were all highlighted by the pandemic.
Dizon pushed for a stronger collaboration and partnership among the government, private sector and industry stakeholders to address food security issues.
“Drastic problems require drastic solutions,” he said. “Food security problems are bound to get worse before they get better, particularly as we continue to struggle against Covid-19, African Swine Fever, avian influenza, among others,” he added.
BusinessMirror columnist and economist Prof. Rene Ofreneo said the Covid-19 pandemic is an opportunity for policy-makers to review their programs and projects for the agriculture sector.
Ofreneo pointed out that the government should do away with policies that were proven ineffective in uplifting the agriculture sector, such as neoliberal thinking on food production and deregulation policies.
He sought an integrated approach in the implementation of government programs in the agriculture sector to harness the full potential and benefit of investments, citing decades-long disjointed programs.
Dr. Mary Ann Sayoc, East West Seed Public Affairs lead, said there is still a huge room for improvement in terms of per capita vegetable consumption in the country.
Sayoc said veggie consumption in the past five years grew to 41 kilograms from 39 kilograms. This, she noted, is already a significant improvement, driven by growing consciousness among consumers to eat healthy foods and availability of produce in the market.