DTI to Pinoys: Buy local products this Christmas

MANILA, Philippines — As part of his Christmas saving tips to consumers, the chief of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is encouraging Filipinos to buy local in a bid to support domestic businesses and producers.

In a statement yesterday, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual issued five tips for consumers this Christmas season.

Among these is to visit and participate in the Kadiwa ng Pasko (KnP) trade fairs, which aim to provide affordable agricultural products such as rice, sugar, vegetables, fruits and fresh meat products, fish and other seafood products, coffee, processed milk, instant noodles, condiments, local bags and footwear.

“By shopping at the Kadiwa ng Pasko Centers, you are also supporting our local farmers, fishermen, manufacturers, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” Pascual said.

In line with this, Pascual announced the schedules of the KnP trade fairs where producers and manufacturers will be selling essential foods at low prices in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Cagayan Valley and Soccsksargen.

Pascual also pledged his full support to President Marcos’ efforts to permanently establish Kadiwa rolling stores in every barangay across the country, a revival of the original KADIWA program from the early 1980s — a farm-to market supply chain and food distribution program that benefited low-income families.

“These rolling stores will help many consumers buy basic necessities like food products at lower prices, so keep an eye on the DTI Consumer Care Facebook page for the updated schedules of Kadiwa ng Pasko Trade Fairs and Rolling Stores Caravans which will be sustained until 2023,” Pascual said.

Meanwhile, another tip for consumers this Christmas season, according to Pascual, is to patronize the Diskwento Caravan (DC) or Rolling Store Caravans (RSC), which is still being conducted nationwide to bring quality basic necessities and prime commodities to consumers at a lower cost. The DC or RSC is a DTI initiative in partnership with manufacturers and retailers of basic necessities and prime commodities.

Other Christmas-saving tips from the trade chief include planning what to purchase ahead of time, taking advantage of holiday promos, discounts and sales, and using the DTI SRP bulletin and Noche Buena Price Guide.

To provide necessary guidance to consumers and help them make informed choices, Pascual said the DTI would continue to monitor the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities this Christmas season.

Farm-to-market cable cart

With a mere funding grant of P13 million, a team of engineers and technologists from Baguio City-based Saint Louis University (SLU) is working to develop a modern upland farm-to-market “cable cart” or funicular technology that will facilitate the transport of vegetables grown in the country’s fertile highlands in Mountain Province and other mountain farming communities all over the country, to the hungry markets in the lowlands.

The ambitious research and development effort, dubbed the Cable Ways for Agricultural Resource Transport System (CARTS) project, will allow communities to transport their agricultural produce to the nearest trading center through a cable tram line.

Enrico Paringit, executive director of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development said they were excited over the opportunities that the innovation will bring to upland farmers in Mountain Province particularly in the pilot site of Bauko.

Engineer Janice Kaye Aquino, of SLU and the CARTS project leader, said the system employs small, light and highly responsive cameras that are battery operated, thus allowing the operator to have an almost real-time view of what is caught on camera.

The project is under Program Boondock: A Mountain Engineering Center Toward Sustainable Infrastructure and Upland Water Security and is expected to be completed in May next year.

This was funded under the DOST Grants-In-Aid Program amounting to P13 million.

The CARTS cable cart tram line prototype of the project will be established in Bauko. It will be equipped with a first person-view system and an electric motor which can be utilized via variable-frequency drive with a smart control system or can be done through a mobile application. – Rainier Allan Ronda