Residents here and neighboring towns forming Cluster 1 of Negros Oriental under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) procedures on Tuesday availed of fresh produce from local farmers following the launching of the Kadiwa on Wheels Mobile Market.

Gov. Roel Degamo led the launching in the morning at the Capitol grounds, joined by agriculture and some provincial officials.

The Kadiwa on Wheels Mobile Market is a project rolled out by the Department of Agriculture in some parts of the country to allow people to access food while under the ECQ to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The ECQ has regulated the movement of people, with calls to stay home and only leave during emergencies or for urgent necessities, and the mobile retail market will answer the needs of the people who have restricted mobility.

In Negros Oriental, the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office, Department of Agriculture-Provincial Agriculture Technology Coordinating Office (DA-PATCO), and the Provincial Veterinary Office initiated the mobile retail market, the first in the province.

Local producers brought their farm produce such as fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, eggs, and meat, which were sold at a retailer’s price.

Non-Dumaguete residents also availed of the farm products as the Kadiwa on Wheels fell on a day when the borders of this capital city were opened to residents of Cluster 1, namely, the towns of Bacong, Dauin, Zamboanguita, Siaton, Valencia, and Sibulan.

The city government has allowed entry of residents from these areas, provided they can present a temporary safe pass valid only for one day, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, during the extended ECQ period.

Meanwhile, several packs of seedlings such as eggplant and tomato were given to the people for backyard gardening.

The Kadiwa on Wheels was scheduled to go around the different barangays in this city and will proceed to Guihulngan City in the north on Wednesday. (PNA)