Young agripreneurs and processors joined the Department of Agriculture’s Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita, a three-day retail selling of their fresh produce at the Robinsons Mall in San Nicolas town which started on Monday.

Showcasing their best-seller hydroponics lettuce grown in styro cups, lettuce chips, fresh mushroom as well as mushroom fruiting bags, the young agripreneurs representing the Federated 4-H Club in the province were among the 16 groups of farmers and fisherfolk cooperatives and micro, small and medium enterprises helping the province’s economic recovery by producing and selling quality products at affordable prices to fellow Ilocanos.

“I’m glad that many young individuals in the province are now showing interest in sustainable farming,” said Crisner Lagazo, a young farmer and organic farming advocate from Pasuquin town, in an interview on Monday.

“Their fresh lettuce is preferred by many customers like me because it is a lot sweeter and fresher than those bought in the supermarket,” said Frances Daguimol, who hails from Pinili town.

Daguimol is among the avid buyers of the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita which is being spearheaded by the DA Regional Field Office 1 in the different parts of the province.

In Ilocos Norte, the Kadiwa market on wheels is being conducted once a month since its roll-out last Aug. 4 at the provincial agriculture office compound here.

To help lower the prices of basic goods and help farmers get the best prices for their produce, the Kadiwa program is being promoted by the Marcos administration as it aims for a food-secure Philippines.

“The Kadiwa is a good platform for us to market our products. It helps us reach a wider market,” said Agnes Asuncion, a woman farmer and food producer from Currimao town.

The Kadiwa also serves as a venue for other government agencies to showcase their technologies such as the Oct. 28 Kadiwa outreach at the Laoag Centennial Arena here, where personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources exhibited a technology on ornamental fish production.

The agency, likewise, distributed a total of 500 pieces of goldfish and other ornamental fish for free. (PNA)