Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) - - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) will link upland farmers to an online selling application to market their products.
Rebekah Eubanks, deputy mission director of USAID Philippines said they will be implementing the Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) project in the upland communities in Barangay Belance, Dupax del Norte to link farmers on the benefits of expanding their market reach through online selling.
She said the St. Joseph Cooperative, a member–ccooperative of the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal (NVAT) in Bambang town will host the BEACON Project’ community internet service network that will benefit over 6,000 farmers.
Eubanks said St. Joseph Cooperative's Board recently approved the initiative, opening a three-month trial of the project in partnership with Kacific Broadband Satellites.
The USAID Team headed by Eubanks recently visited the province to join other national and local government officials in the launching the NVAT Fresh Online program, the first pilot project of the USAID in the country through the Strengthening Private Enterprises for the Digital Economy (SPEED) project in collaboration with the DTI, NVAT and DA.
The SPEED project is a five-year undertaking to enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate safely, reliably, and competitively in the country’s emerging e-commerce ecosystem.
“The NVAT Fresh Online platform serves as more than a marketplace and it could be a lifeline for many farmers. It will enable farmers to circumvent traditional barriers by directly linking them to online buyers, enabling them to command competitive pricing and have a more stable and predictable income,” she said
Eubanks said the digitalization will increase NVAT’s operational efficiency, and subsequently the volume of online transactions.
She said in its first year, NVAT Fresh Online is projected to facilitate 5,000 metric tons in sales, amounting to 3% of NVAT's total volume and generating an estimated Php125 million in revenue. By its fifth year, the online platform is expected to raise the sales to approximately 20,000 tons, capturing a 10% market share of NVAT’s sales and achieving P500 million in revenue. (OTGB/BME/PIA NVizcaya)
