President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday ordered the expansion of KADIWA Centers from 21 to 300 sites by the second quarter of 2025.

Kadiwa is a market linkage facilitation program intended to make agricultural products and other basic commodities accessible and affordable to vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens, solo parents, Persons with disabilities (PWD), and members of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In a meeting in Malacanang, the Department of Agriculture (DA) requested the President to fund the rehabilitation and repair of warehouses for potential KADIWA center sites for an estimated 600 KADIWA Stores nationwide.

The expanded sites would be selling Rice-For-All (RFA) at P43 per kilogram or less, with selected stores to sell P29 rice depending on stock availability.

The rehabilitation is also expected to benefit an additional 2.3 million Filipinos in its initial roll.

The DA reported that 148 new sites for expansion for 2024 was approved by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel. The DA is in collaboration with different government agencies and the private sector for the P29 and RFA programs.

As of September this year, there are 447 KADIWA pop up stores and on-wheel sites fully operating across various regions.

The National Food Authority (NFA) also procured a large volume of palay at 6,472,299 bags for the period of January to October 2024 with a performance rate of 72.65 percent based on the 8,908,860 bags target for the said year –a first in almost a decade.

With the continuous implementation of Price Range Scheme for Palay Procurement (PRICERs) which benefits local farmers, the NFA is poised to reach the necessary amount of buffer stockpiles by the end of the year. | PND