DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, October 2 (PIA) -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here is setting up a digital platform for farmers to directly link to institutional buyers or consumers to cut out middlemen and raise farmers’ incomes.
This e-commerce platform will be implemented through the Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment Cluster (PRLEC) of the End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), with an initial funding of P500,000 from the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC).
This online application will directly market the farm products from conflict barangays of Dobdob in Valencia town and Talalak in Sta. Catalina as pilot areas.
DTI Information Officer Krystle Jade Bato said the project is in partnership with Agro-Digital PH for the use of their online platform through the Dobdob Farmers' Association as host in selling farm produce to hospitality industry, or in particular the Negros Oriental Resorts, Restaurants & Hotels Association (NORRHA).
“This endeavor is to create an e-commerce platform for the high value crops (HVC) produce by the farmers in the ELCAC areas,” Bato said.
The startup Agro-DigitalPH will craft the online system for farmers to encourage greater use of technology in the industry to raise their earnings and productivity.
The system helps from agricultural production to marketing agricultural products, with some data inputs related to farming to business information.
With this venture, Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) President Edward Du said the chamber will always be involved and will support any economic opportunity.
However, Du said he hopes this undertaking will be sustainable, as he emphasized that peace and order issues in the conflict areas should be resolved soon.
Heads and representatives from different ELCAC clusters welcomed the move, expecting this would boost the income and livelihood of farmers in communist-affected barangays.
This move will also be part of the Tamlang Valley Development Project as part of the province’s economic agenda, which is expected to take off by December. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)
