SMC and DA open more Kadiwa stores to help local farmers

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA) expanded its “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” rolling farmers’ store program to provide additional help to the local farmers who have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vegetable and fruit supply for the rolling farmers’ store come directly from the local farmers which they have been continuously providing since April.

Through the effort of SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang, the stores were able to station in different Petron gas stops in Metro Manila.

“Farmers are the backbone of our food supply chain and are essential to our food security, that is why from the very start, we tried to think of programs to help them even more,” said Ang.

The identification of the locations and which farmers to be put into the rolling farmers’ store program was done by DA, including the purchase of raw materials for food production.

“We‘ve heard some reports of farmers who had difficulty shipping their produce or worse were left with no choice but to let their produce rot or spoil or were forced to sell at below-market prices,” added Ang.