Elson Jalapong, a sari-sari store owner in Barangay 23 is thankful to the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-10) for bringing the Kadiwa Market direct to their barangay.
Since the city-wide implementation of the community quarantine, his family has been making do with little income to provide for their daily needs.
“I am thankful that DA brought the Kadiwa Market to our barangay. The products sold are cheaper and affordable that helps us save, especially now that our daily earnings are much lesser under the quarantine,” Jalapong said.
“I am looking forward for the next round when the Kadiwa Market visits our place,” he added.
For the Northern Mindanao Federation of Dairy Cooperatives (NMFDC), better known for its brand name, Highland Fresh Dairy Products, the Kadiwa Market has helped their group get by the pandemic by maintaining steady sales.
“Our production has been affected since the implementation of the quarantine. Our sales have dropped significantly. One of our strategies is to continue joining DA’s Kadiwa. This helps us to maintain our daily sales,” Jhuryvie Sardovia Highland Fresh accounting staff-turned-saleslady shared.
“More importantly, the Kadiwa Market has helped me keep my job during the quarantine,” she added.
Barangay 23 Chair Mario Balsarza said his constituents not only saved money because of the Kadiwa Market, but it also kept them from going to congested places like the public market, a precautionary and safe measure against COVID-19.
“I will look into inviting the Kadiwa Market some other time to our barangay. This is very helpful to our people during this time. I am very thankful that DA has considered our barangay as one of its display areas,” Balsarza said.
The Kadiwa Market also enabled barangay residents to display their homemade products, he added.
DA-10 aims to bring together individual farmers, farmer-groups, small, medium and large enterprises and corporations in Cagayan de Oro as vendors and suppliers of the Kadiwa Market as it roams around the city, supplying fresh and cheap food products to Kagay-anons.
The agency provides logistics and links Kadiwa vendors to target barangays to sell their products.
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