MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that as many as 41,357 farmers have benefited from its Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita program.
As of April 10, Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness Kristine Evangelista reported that the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita program had generated P7.241 billion in sales and served nearly 4 million households.
Launched in 2019, the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita program enables farmers to reach consumers directly without passing through a multilayer marketing system by opening Kadiwa stores in cities across the country so farmers may sell their goods more advantageously.
READ: DA to link farmers, consumers
Enhanced Kadiwa Grant
Evangelista urged farmer cooperative associations (FCA) to apply for the Enhanced Kadiwa Grants, a financial assistance scheme run by the Department of Agriculture.
“The grant will be able to help them sell their produce at a better price by making them more participative in different roles dun sa ating value chain,” explained Evangelista
According to Evangelista, the Enhanced Kadiwa Grant has already helped 188 FCAs.
Evangelista said cooperatives that are not registered with the Cooperative Development Authority could also receive assistance from their local government units.
FCAs that have been active for at least two years should submit a letter of intent and project proposal to Agribusiness Marketing at the DA Regional Office to qualify for the grant.
Evangelista said that they need two years to ensure that the FCU is already familiar with financial management., “para hindi naman masayang ang ating grant.” (to avoid wasting the grant.)
Besides the retail sector, the DA will also help FCAs find institutional buyers, such as restaurants and hospitals, she said.
“So kadiwa becomes their springboard to showcase what they have, what they can sell and what volume,” Evangelista added.