DEPARTMENT of Agriculture regional office 10 (DA-10) is strengthening its agricultural support services to help northern Mindanao farmers amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, said in a press statement Friday.
Amid the crisis, DA-10’s flagship program dubbed as the Plant, Plant, Plant program (4Ps) even gained ground, as not only farmers have engaged in planting, but also different LGUs, schools, military personnel, government agencies and NGOs.
“DA’s 4Ps continue to allocate them provisions on rice, corn and vegetable seeds, and even livestock, to boost the services and assistance to our local farmers,” said DA-10 regional technical director for Operations Carlota S. Madriaga.
Madriaga added that even an allocation of provisions to relevant stakeholders of the department.
She said, aside from the provision of technical assistance and input to farmers in the production of their various crops, the DA-10, through its Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service Division (AMAD), is facilitating the harvested crops of farmers for a viable market.
Looking for a feasible market for their crops has been a problem of some farmers especially during the imposition of the community quarantine brought by Covid-19 pandemic that caused disruption in the flow of their harvests, according to Madriaga.
She said the importance of growing their own food to ensure food security among every Filipino household.
Emphasizing the ongoing implementation of DA’s “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” Program, the majority of which is done together with the LGU of Cagayan de Oro to extend marketing support to farmers and fisherfolk in the region.
Initially, Kadiwa activities have assisted about 66 individual farmers and 1,408 cooperatives, across the 227 Kadiwa sites in the different barangays of the Region with almost P17 million total sales generated as of September.
The project is part of the department’s initiative to ensure affordable and available food for all by directly linking suppliers to consumers, bringing their produce closer to communities.
DA’s Kadiwa sites do not only provide affordable and nutritious food to consumers, but also assure a market for the produce of farmers and fisherfolk.
“During the peak of COVID-19, where there is difficulty in transporting goods from the suppliers to the consumers, DA-10 provided logistic support to farmers from Claveria, Misamis Oriental and Talakag, Bukidnon to deliver their products to major outlets in Cagayan de Oro,” she added.
Despite the COVID-19 triggered pandemic in early March, the National Economic Development Authority reported that the agriculture sector posted a 1.6 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first semester, this year. (Angie Cabig and Irish Mae Juntahan)
