THE Department of Agriculture (DA) ordered its regional offices to facilitate the transport of agricultural products to markets during the Luzon-wide lockdown to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said regional offices need to address the logistics of bringing produce to market and ensure unhampered delivery of basic commodities.
He cited a regional field offices (RFO) in the Cordillera region which organized transport for vegetables to Quezon City.
“For instance, on March 26 the DA-RFO in Cordillera, in coordination with the Municipal Government of Tublay, Benguet, led the transport to Quezon City of 10,000 kilograms of vegetables from a farmers’ group,” Mr. Dar said.
He said in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal delivered a total of 3,252.4 metric tons of assorted vegetables to elsewhere in Luzon, including the National Capital Region, between March 24 and 30.
The DA will also implement its program of mobile produce markets, known as Kadiwa on Wheels, and additional Kadiwa stalls in other regions.
DA vehicles will be used for the transport of the commodities.
In the Davao region, the Kadiwa on Wheels sells vegetables and frozen meat products through a partnership with the area’s hog raisers. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
