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Three farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) in CALABARZON transported a total of 2,851 kilograms (kg) of agricultural commodities to different Metro Manila areas on January 25, 2021.

The Southern Luzon Farmers and Traders (SOLUFAT) Agriculture Cooperative of Lipa City, Batangas can sell up to 300 kg of radish and 100 kg of pole sitao from its harvest. While, 2,000 kg of dressed chicken from the Chef José Consortium of Cooperatives (Batangas Egg Producers’ Cooperative, San Jose Workers’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and Batangas Organic and Natural Farming Agriculture Cooperative) can be delivered to the markets. Moreover, the SAGULAY Farmers’ Association of Indang, Cavite will supply 451 kg of vegetables, including ampalaya, sitaw, okra, siling panigang, white and red onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, turmeric, corn, and Japanese cucumber in the cities of Pasig, Marikina, and Valenzuela.

As Secretary William D. Dar of the Department of Agriculture (DA) ensures that adequate food supplies are available, and the DA continues to establish the link between production and the market, Officer-in-Charge-Regional Executive Director (OIC-RED) Vilma M. Dimaculangan confirmed that the FCAs in CALABARZON have the ability to bring their harvested crops or commodities anywhere in the metro.

“Marami po tayong mga kooperatiba at asosasyon ng mga magsasaka sa rehiyon na patuloy na umaani sa kabila ng nararanasan nating pandemya. Patunay po ito na kaya ng CALABARZON na magdala ng mga produktong pang-agrikultura hindi lamang sa mga karatig nitong lalawigan kundi sa marami ring lugar sa National Capital Region (NCR), nang sa gayon ay madagdagan ang kanilang kita at makatulong tayo sa pagkamit ng pamahalaan ng kasapatan sa pagkain para sa lahat,” Director Dimaculangan shared.

Sec. Dar, together with Undersecretary for Operations Engr. Ariel T. Cayanan, Assistant Secretary (ASec.) for Operations Engr. Arnel V. de Mesa, and ASec. for Strategic Communications Mr. Noel O. Reyes, joined OIC-RED Dimaculangan in inspecting the said agricultural products at the DA-Agricultural Training Institute grounds.

Director Dimaculangan also said that DA’s KADIWA ni Ani at Kita project, which has been intensified in the region with the help of the private sector since its rollout in March 2020, provides nutritious food to the consuming public while at the same time provide opportunities for our farmers to market their products during this difficult period.

“Ang mga stakeholder sa kabuuan ng food value chain ay talagang natutulungan ng KADIWA project, mula supply-side farmers hanggang demand-side consumers,” Director Dimaculangan added.

Through KADIWA’s three modalities for bringing food to consumers, namely KADIWA on Wheels (mobile market), KADIWA Retail (traditional physical market), and KADIWA Online, thousands of farmers’ cooperatives and consumers/buyers have benefitted from it, in which hundreds of thousand kilograms of agri-fishery products such as vegetables, fruits, rice, livestock and poultry products, and fish have been sold.

“Ang DA CALABARZON, katuwang ang iba’t ibang sektor, ay patuloy na nagsusumikap na mapagbuti ang ating potensyal bilang mapagkukunan ng pagkain,” Director Dimaculangan emphasized.

More FCAs in the region are set to transport their harvests to different NCR areas in the next few days and weeks. ● (ARC, DA-RAFIS)