The Davao del Norte Investment and Promotion Office (DNIPC) is now selling fruits and vegetables produced from the local small farmers and backyard gardeners at the Pasalubong Center in the Provincial Capitol.
This was done in line with the provincial government’s KAAGAPAY (Kausa sa Agrikultura ug Panginabuhian sa Barangay) food security program, which promises to take care of the marketing of the harvests on top of the production assistance.
Through KAAGAPAY, the harvests of the small farmers and backyard gardeners are bought by DNIPC, which will then be resold at the Pasalubong Center.
This allows the KAAGAPAY beneficiaries to have guaranteed income through their produce without having to worry about marketing their own products.
Currently, newly harvested fresh papaya of the Red Lady Variety (hybrid) is currently being sold at the Davao del Norte Pasalubong Shop at a very affordable price.
The KAAGAPAY program is a flagship food security and livelihood program of the provincial government which provides free seedlings to interested households in the province in order for them to grow their own vegetables and fruits at home.
The produce or harvests are then bought by the provincial government through the DNIPC to be resold at the Pasalubong Shop.
At this point, according to KAAGAPAY Vice Chairperson Dr. Romulo Tagalo, the program includes poultry aside from vegetables and fruits. And it has so far benefitted the Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities the most, having generated ₱ 2 million income in total.
(Jan Vincent Leuterio, PIA-XI | Michael Manguhig, RPN DXKT Davao OIC)