The Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to put up accredited Kadiwa retail stores in select dry and wet markets in Metro Manila within the first quarter of the year in a bid to make affordable food more accessible to all Filipinos, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said yesterday.
The PCO, in a news release, quoted Kristine Evangelista, presidential agriculture assistant secretary for consumer affairs and spokeswoman, as saying that some cooperatives have already signified their willingness to supply the Kadiwa stores that would be established and accredited.
Evangelista said the government is determined to provide the public, especially those in Metro Manila, with affordable food while the government tries to address the continuing ballooning of prices of agricultural commodities.
“One of the things we are looking at is the accreditation of Kadiwa retailers inside the markets to ensure that the public has access to affordable agricultural commodities,” she said.
The DA launched the Kadiwa, an initiative to ensure the availability and affordability of food in areas with high demand and in communities with low-income families, to stabilize local supply and prices of food and other basic commodities.
The Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service of DA, the office in charge of processing applications for Kadiwa accreditations, said there are 308 Kadiwa stores, pop-up stores and Kadiwa-on-Wheels nationwide, at present.
