Kadiwa Centers to reach 179 nationwide by year-end

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the number of Kadiwa Centers nationwide would reach at least 179 by year-end, slowly expanding the availability of affordable commodities to more Filipino consumers nationwide.

Agriculture assistant secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said the DA is on track to opening a total of 179 Kadiwa Centers by the end of the year.

At present, there are about 41 Kadiwa Centers overseen by the DA and another 67 centers under the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Velicaria-Guevarra said.

The additional Kadiwa Centers would come from the Kadiwa Stores that can be converted into Kadiwa Centers, she added.

“By April or middle of next year, our target is to have 300 [Kadiwa Centers],” she said in a press briefing yesterday.

The total number of Kadiwa Centers by the end of the year could surpass the target set by the DA as the government holds its three-day Kadiwa ng Pangulo expo beginning today.

Possible Kadiwa partners, including private sector players like San Miguel Corp., are expected to attend the event wherein the DA would showcase the potential and achievements of the Kadiwa marketing system.

The DA is also eyeing to partner with other government agencies like the Philippine Carabao Center, National Housing Authority and even the Philippine Postal Corp. to host new Kadiwa Centers in key regions and areas nationwide.

It is one of the ways that the DA is considering to achieve its target of establishing 1,500 Kadiwa centers by the end of the Marcos administration, Velicaria-Guevarra said.

Kadiwa Centers are bigger in scale as it serves as the main supplier of Kadiwa Stores while Kadiwa Stores mirror Kadiwa Centers but on a smaller scale. Both modalities sell basic commodities like rice at more affordable pricing compared to prevailing market prices.

All Kadiwa Centers sell P29 per kilo rice for select sectors of the society as well as the P42-per-kilo rice under the DA’s rice-for-all program.

Agriculture assistant secretary Arnel De Mesa said the commodities sold at Kadiwa Centers are normally lower by 20 to 30 percent than those sold at retail channels like wet markets and supermarkets.

The DA is also beefing up its Kadiwa on Wheels program, or the mobile Kadiwa Stores as it plans to add 45 more to its existing 39 Kadiwa on Wheels fleet.