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Deliver-E, an end-to-end logistics platform that aims to connect farmers and MSMEs to consumers, was formally launched on December 14
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The trade and industry departments, private sector, farmer cooperatives, and USAID pledged to upscale agriculture value chain and improve overall food security in the country even beyond the COVID-19 crisis
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Since its initial launch in April 2020, the Deliver-E platform has mobilized over 260 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, and recorded more than P7.15 million worth of transactions
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Deliver-E also helped around 600 farmers in Luzon and Mindanao to double their income and reduce wastage from 50% to only 5%
The Philippine government and the private sector formally launched on December 14 Deliver-E, an end-to-end logistics platform that aims to bring farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) closer to consumers by cutting layers in trade.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), private sector partners, farmer cooperatives, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on December 14 also pledged to upscale agriculture value chain and improve food security in the country past the COVID-19 crisis.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a statement the initiative will bring farm produce closer to consumers and cut layers of traders. “It will be game-changing not only for our farmers but also for our consumers,” he said.
He bared that DA and DTI are partnering to “jointly work on solutions” to increase farmers’ income, provide a better supply chain in agriculture, link the sector to industry processors or direct to marketplace, and deliver fresher products for consumers.
For his part, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that with the sheer size of agricultural supply chains, “only a multi-stakeholder approach to their management could free up the bottlenecks.”
He said DA appreciated the “Pledge of Commitment” that partners in the development, private, and public sectors have taken to support Deliver-E, which “installs digital technology in the most crucial stops of the agricultural supply chain.”
Deliver-E operates through blockchain technology and integrates related e-commerce and logistics application services, from consolidation point to central warehousing facility, and then to last-mile delivery services to reach end-clients.
The system was developed by Filipino tech startup Insight Supply Chain Solutions, while Food Terminal, Inc. handles the central warehousing facility.
Deliver-E was developed and initially launched in early April 2020, and since then, the platform has mobilized over 260 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and recorded more than P7.15 million worth of transactions.
The platform is the result of the collaborative efforts between DTI, DA, Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines, logistics technology experts, farmer groups, and the USAID DELIVER-Project.
DTI noted that the platform has helped around 600 farmers in Luzon and Mindanao to double their income from their harvests and reduce wastage from 50% to only 5%, DTI noted.
There are currently two farmers’ cooperative/groups and seven MSMEs on board the platform with around 600 farmer beneficiaries.
For 2021, the target is to include 25 farmers’ cooperatives/groups, an estimated 12,500 farmer beneficiaries, and 100 MSMEs. USAID will be deploying implementation specialists to help farmers get on board the system.
DTI said that even after the pandemic, Deliver-E’s technology is deemed as one of the key sustainable solutions to improve the Philippines’ agriculture value chain, make the country more food-secure and improve farmers’ lives.
As more players in the agriculture value chain join the system, Deliver-E will able to build an elaborate supply-and-demand dashboard system that can provide insightful data for the Philippine government’s evidence-based decision-making process, DTI said.
The platform is also seen to help realize the government’s Agribusiness Support for Promotion and Investment in Regional Expositions project, which seeks to create businesses and jobs in the rural community by linking farmers directly to the market. – Roumina Pablo
