U.S.-backed online delivery platform connects agri producers with consumers amid pandemic

The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting Philippine government efforts to help Filipino farmers transport their produce to key markets and address urgent food security issues.

USAID worked closely with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the private sector, led by Philippine logistics technology startup Insight Supply Chain Solutions, to establish DELIVER-e, a digital platform connecting Luzon farmers to buyers through an innovative, end-to-end electronic market system that addresses supply chain gaps during community quarantine.

“We are proud to work with the Philippine government and private sector to open new distribution channels for agricultural produce, which will restore farmers’ incomes and support food security,” U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said.

Through the DELIVER-e platform, which better links producers with consumers, farmers generate more income by selling fresher fruits and vegetables to buyers and less food goes to waste.  Since its launch in early April, DELIVER-e has enabled sales of more than 156,000 kilograms of fresh fruits and vegetables through its first two e-marketplaces, Gulay ng Bayan and City Farms Philippines, and facilitated the movement of fresh produce to institutional and individual buyers in Metro Manila.

“Nabuhay ang pag-asa namin. Mas may pag-asa na ngayon kahit matapos pa ang COVID-19 dahil may ganito na kaming koneksyon sa sa mga pagbebentahan naming, na siguradong kikita kami at walang mabubulok na mga gulay at prutas [Our hopes are renewed.  We have hope that even after COVID-19, we can have secure income, and vegetables and fruit won’t go to waste],” said Mylene Rafer, a 38-year-old pineapple farmer from Camarines Norte.

DELIVER-e is part of a Php900-million USAID initiative to advance the country’s competitiveness and boost trade and investment, especially for micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises.