Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) is planning to establish Kadiwa sites in areas severely impacted by Super Typhoon Pepito, also known internationally as Typhoon Man-yi. This initiative aims to provide more affordable agricultural commodities to affected communities. According to Philippines News Agency, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa mentioned in a phone interview on Monday that the department is coordinating with regional and local officials to assist these areas. "In areas mostly affected by Super Typhoon Pepito, we are coordinating with the regional field offices to assist these areas in putting up Kadiwa sites," he stated. The Kadiwa program enables farmers and food producers to sell their products directly to consumers, bypassing middlemen. De Mesa noted that, due to consecutive weather disturbances, vegetable prices, especially low-land varieties, might remain high for an extended period, contrary to the usual two-week recovery time. "The prices of vegetables will remain elevated. We s aid before that it is easy to recover, but that will only happen if there are no more typhoons. They are successive ones, however, that's why it will take some time to recover," he explained. The regions most affected by the typhoon include Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol. De Mesa highlighted the unusual nature of the recent weather events, with strong typhoons occurring in quick succession, leaving little room for recovery. In Metro Manila, the prices of lowland vegetables have surged since October 31, with bitter gourd (ampalaya) now ranging from PHP130 to PHP200 per kilogram and eggplant from PHP150 to PHP220 per kilogram. Tomatoes have also seen a price increase, now ranging from PHP140 to PHP230 per kilogram. Highland vegetables, such as green and red bell peppers, have experienced the highest price spikes, with green bell pepper prices ranging from PHP190 to PHP500 per kilogram and red bell peppers from PHP280 to PHP450 per kilogram. White potat oes have also seen an increase, now priced at PHP140 per kilogram. The DA-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center is still assessing Pepito's impact. The damage has surpassed PHP10 billion, even before Pepito hit, following previous weather disturbances like Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, Typhoon Leon, Typhoon Nika, and Super Typhoon Ofel. In response to these challenges, the DA has allocated PHP541.02 million worth of agricultural inputs, such as rice and vegetable seedlings, fertilizers, and biologics for those affected by Kristine and Leon. Additionally, PHP84.88 million has been allocated for the agri-sectors affected by Nika and Ofel. Other interventions include a PHP667 million indemnification fund for insured farmers, a PHP25,000 loanable amount per farmer payable over three years with zero interest, deployment of Kadiwa trucks, continuous distribution of calamity rice from the National Food Authority, and utilization of a PHP1 billion quick response fund.