The purchases of agricultural products of Local Government Units (LGUs) directly from Farmers and Fishers Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs) continues to rise in Cagayan Valley.
According to Regional Executive Director Narciso A. Edillo of Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office No. 02 (DA-RFO 02), it already reached over One Hundred Million Pesos as of yesterday, May 11, 2020.
“This is a positive development in the agriculture sector, especially that we are celebrating the Farmers and Fisherfolks Month this May,” he said.
“For this, we would like to acknowledge the initiatives of our LGUs for recognizing the efforts of our food producers.”
In Cagayan, municipalities that procured products for their food packs are Aparri, Gattaran, Piat, Alcala, Sto. Nino, Gonzaga, barangay LGU of Iraga, Solana, and even Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Office 02.
For Isabela, it includes Mallig, Santiago City, Cauayan City, and the PLGU.
In Nueva Vizcaya, Dupax del Sur, Kasibu, Quezon and Villaverde and in Quirino, the provincial government.
No less than Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar had appreciated the LGUs’ positive actions that will help farmers regain their losses in the previous season due to the low buying price of palay.
The Secretary has been very vocal with his request for LGUs to buy the produce of farmers and fishers directly.
This initiative supported the battle cry of DA towards “Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita.”
Meanwhile, the KADIWA spirit is now being duplicated by LGUs.
Tuguegarao City is now operating its version of “Dafung Ta Barangay” in tandem with Tuguegarao City Vendors Association and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
As “dafung” is ybanag term of the market, the activity aimed to bring food and non-food products to the barangays in a daily schedule.
As Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita started operation in Tuguegarao City last March 2020, Mayor Jefferson Soriano immediately announced his strong support for its sustainability.
Likewise, Quirino province is already operating the mobile market in tandem with DA and DTI benefitting households of all the six (6) municipalities.
Dubbed as Quirino Mobile Market, it already served 416 households, and 15 barangays were benefitted for the period, May 6-8, 2020 alone.
The department will always be in the front row in serving, especially the farmers and fishers, including the consumers in the far-flung areas.
#BuyLocalEatLocalLetsSupportOurFarmers
#InSupportToFarmersAndFisherfolkMonth
(With reports from DA-AMAD, PPMIU Isabela, Department of Trade and Industry Quirino and CLGU Tuguegarao.)
