Are the more than 300 Kadiwa stores that sell rice, vegetables and other agricultural products directly to consumers in Metro Manila and the rest of the archipelago beneficial or wasteful?
During a business journalism seminar organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (Ejap) and San Miguel Corp. last weekend, Bruce Tolentino, a former agriculture undersecretary and now member of the policymaking Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said that while the Kadiwa program could easily curry favor with voters by giving away “ayuda,” or cash assistance, financing such an initiative was not sustainable in the long run.
Palace statement
“It’s easy to give away, go to a town and have lots of ayuda … give away machines, seeds, money. It gives you votes. It’s quick-acting but it’s usually not sustainable. It will only last until ayuda is available, including the Kadiwa [stores],” he pointed out.
On Wednesday, however, Malacañang stepped in to clarify Tolentino’s claim.
In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Tolentino recognized the importance of the rollout of the government’s Kadiwa stores in the country.
“Tolentino emphasized that the Kadiwa program plays an important role in the lives of Filipinos in need, especially the poor (who are) adversely affected by increasing price of food and basic commodities,” the PCO said in the statement.
“I would like to clarify that the Kadiwa program is in fact an important measure as it quickly responds to the food insecurity suffered by depressed communities and groups requiring short-term food assistance. It is also a useful measure to introduce high-nutrient foods to malnourished populations, especially children and lactating mothers,” Tolentino was quoted as saying in the statement.
‘Welcome effort’
The official, according to the PCO, added that the ongoing initiatives to open additional Kadiwa outlets was a “welcome effort” amid the uncertainties brought about by high inflation rates.
“If it is expanded, hopefully the administration will find a way to achieve its vision of giving Filipino farmers, fisherfolk and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) an opportunity to generate more income through direct farm-to-consumer trade through the program,” Tolentino said.
During the Ejap forum, Tolentino noted that the Kadiwa project would indeed benefit Filipino consumers in a depressed community or in the event of a disaster or emergency in the short term.
However, he added: “You can only keep it briefly. You can only keep it for a few weeks, a few months. It will cost [the] government money. I think if we view the Kadiwa as a targeted, short-term assistance, it will be useful. If you view it as a long-term [intervention], it is wasteful.” President Marcos, concurrently serving as agriculture secretary, has been expanding the Kadiwa stores in a move to address the steep prices of agricultural products and provide a ready market for farmers and fishers.
Marcos origins
The Kadiwa program was started in the 1970s during the administration of the President’s father and namesake to help consumers cope with high inflation. Its main economic argument was that prices of essential food items can be brought down by eliminating the middlemen.
In allowing farmers and fishermen to sell directly to consumers through the government-run Kadiwa rolling stores, the former benefit by getting a higher price than if they were to sell to traders, while the latter gain access to farm products at a lower price than in traditional wet markets or grocery stores.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that to date, 931 farmers’ cooperatives and associations and agri-based enterprises have generated total sales of P2.38 billion through the Kadiwa program.
In its year-end report for 2022, the Marcos administration said that as of November last year, the program has generated P418 million in sales from 19,383 Kadiwa selling activities, serving 1.22 million households and benefiting 450 farmer cooperatives and associations, and agri-fishery enterprises nationwide.
However, it did not say how much the government had spent in hosting the Kadiwa stores.
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