LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The Department of Agriculture has recognized the efforts of the provincial office in supporting local farmers when it conferred the ‘Gawad Saka Award’ to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist as Region 1’s Outstanding Kadiwa ng Pangulo LGU Implementer.
Provincial Agriculturist Dalisay Moya and Provincial Legal Officer Baby Ruth Torre received the award on behalf of Governor Ramon V. Guico III during the 50th Gawad Saka Parangal ng mga Natatanging Magsasaka at Mangingisda Monday, June 23, in San Fernando City, La Union,.
Gov. Guico has vowed to intensify agri-based programs that will bolster agricultural production which will help farmers increase their yields and marketability.
Launched in 2022, the governor ordered for intensified promotion of the program that by January 2024, the project was named ‘Kadiwa na Kapitolyo’ and held twice a month at the Capitol Complex grounds.
Kadiwa is one of the national government’s agri-based programs, which the present administration is actively promoting.
The Kadiwa On-Wheels na Kapitolyo, on the other hand, is a collaborative project of the provincial government with the DA along with various agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and the National Food Authority (NFA).
The OPAG report said the Kadiwa started with 20 exhibitors during and more than doubled in the succeeding months.
To date, about a hundred Kadiwa-related activities are conducted with the support of different local government units (LGUs) and several partner agencies.
“We have generated a total sales of P20,985,234.60 and we have helped 2,582 exhibitors. The total household that we have served is around 55,710,” said Provincial Agribusiness and Marketing Service Coordinator Ramy Sison, in a mix of English and Filipino, earlier.
The Kadiwa serves as an opportunity for farmers/fisherfolks and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to introduce their products directly to the public.
Kadiwa offers safe, fresh, and affordable food products like vegetables, dairy products, fruits, fish and meat products, rice, native delicacies, among others.
(Ruby F. Rayat/PIMRO)
