Platform to connect farmers to consumers

Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

National government agencies and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched on Monday a digital platform that sought to connect farmers directly to consumers, a move aimed at increasing farmers’ income and lowering consumer prices.

The departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and of Agriculture (DA) together with the USAID officially launched DELIVER-e after the project— in its proof-of-concept stage —sold 260 metric tons of vegetables and fruits and made more than P7.15 million worth of transactions.

“This initiative is about bringing farm produce closer to the buying public and cutting through layers of traders. This has long been a personal dream of mine,” Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said during the online event.

He said the platform was first developed by their private sector partner Insight SCS to increase the income of farmers in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Bicol.

Although he did not expound on how much the platform would expand in terms of reach, Lopez said the government wanted to “institutionalize” the project.

“We aim to expand the scope of this digital platform and we would like to institutionalize it by taking off from this project and adopting this project in the government setting while still working with the private sector,” he said.

“This would cut out the inefficiencies of a traditional value chain by connecting farmers to buyers. This, in turn, would double the income of farmers even as it lowers the prices of fresh produce,” he added.

Back in June, USAID said in a statement that the platform was part of its P900-million initiative to advance the country’s competitiveness and boost trade and investment, especially for smaller businesses.

The program had its soft launch on April. The DTI said inquiries about the project could be addressed to [email protected]. INQ