A party-list solon has expressed support to the plan of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to put up permanent Kadiwa stores across the country.
“In fact, we have been calling for the institutionalization of the program and filed a bill towards this end because it presents a win-win scenario for all concerned. It is a win for farmers. It is a win for consumers. It is a win for all of us,” said AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee.
Mr. Marcos last week announced his plan to establish more Kadiwa centers.
“So, this Kadiwa program will just continue because now we are considering to evolve it. These won’t be so-called pop-up centers, but we will have a permanent Kadiwa center in various LGUs. We are studying the potential sites,” the President said.
House Bill No. 3957 or the “Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminal” bill seeks to institutionalize the program through an initial P25 billion fund for the Department of Agriculture to set up and manage Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminals in every local government unit in the country.
Lee said that scaling up the Kadiwa initiative across the whole country could be a concrete and immediate intervention to the current food crisis.
He said making the Kadiwa program permanent would help eliminate the need for farmers and fisherfolk to approach unscrupulous middlemen.
He also urged local government units to as early as now coordinate with concerned national agencies on how to operationalize the President’s plan.
“I hope that we can put this plan into action as soon as possible. This is an opportunity for the national government, Congress, and our LGUs to work together to alleviate the people’s plight. Our collaboration will be key in making this work,” he added.