LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – As a marketing initiative to provide fresh, quality, safe, and affordable agri-fishery products, the Agriculture Training Institute-Cordillera (ATI-CAR) of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) formally opened the ATIng KADIWA Center at the ATI compound at Benguet State University.
ATI-CAR Director Charlie Sagudan explained that the center will serve as a venue featuring different agricultural products and seasonal fruits from 92 certified Learning Sites for Agriculture cooperators organized as a regional federation from the different provinces in the region tasked with managing the center.
“We intend to open it with the said two-day schedule since we are located in a strategic area where students and professionals can visit and acquire the available agriculture products from our farmers. One of the scenarios we have been stating is for us to support the farmers by assisting them in finding a market for their products and for other learning sites in the country to emulate,” Sagudan said.
26 ATI-CAR-supported Community Urban Agriculture model farm organizations located in the urban and peri-urban areas in the region will soon showcase their products aside from 3 accredited private Extension Service Providers (ESP), including products from 4 civil society organizations in Mankayan, Benguet certified as Good Agricultural Practitioners (GAP).
DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Atty. Jennilyn Dawayan asserted the sustainability of providing fresh products as one of the challenges in establishing KADIWA centers, with the recommendation for the center to look for farmers who will complement the continuity of fresh products.
“There is already a great appreciation for the KADIWA centers, but I always believe that the KADIWA centers should not only be glorified as a facility for selling products but as an avenue for bulk purchase for possible market linkage from the institutional partners of a particular produce.
How can we upscale the KADIWA centers, which we do not intend to compete with other vendors but as an option for buyers, the scale of production has always been an issue in terms of supply which is why we recommend sharpening initiatives through institutional partnerships,” the Director stated.
Director Dawayan also recommended the completeness of agricultural items, application of a market-driven approach, collaboration with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and livestock programs of the DA like INSPIRE, aside from encouraging non-GAP farmers to be GAP certified, as among the areas where the center can expand.
The ATIng KADIWA Center will be open on Mondays and Fridays from 8:00 AM to 5:00PM. By JTLlanes
