To address issues of food security and to improve farmers’ access to markets, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture launched the DeliverE online logistics platform, with the assistance of USAID-DELIVER. (SCMAP is among the private sector partners involved in its development.) We talked to its project manager Arvi Miguel about its early impact on the agriculture sector and how technology can help address long-standing issues.
What issues in the food supply chain does the DeliverE platform aim to address?
Agricultural produce typically has at least eight touch points before it finally reaches the end consumer. This leaves it vulnerable to operational inefficiencies, which exacerbates post-harvest losses as well as diminishes product quality as it travels to the end of the value chain. The DeliverE project was born to address these issues – offering an end-to-end agricultural digital supply chain and marketplace solutions platform for farmers and fisherfolk, who are the primary driving force of this industry.
What was the initial impact of DeliverE on the farmers that are part of it?
Its initial impact is the reduction of logistics costs for the shipment of goods. As consolidation already takes place in the transactions within the platform, that expense now ranges from PHP 5 to 10 per kilo, a reduction from the conventional rate of PHP 15 to 20 per kilo. Expenses have an inverse relationship with the farmer’s revenue; as such, any improvement in operational efficiency would be most welcome for them.
Also, as more and more transactions take place in the platform, engaging more and more farmers and fisherfolk, it is the project’s aim to increase the percentage of the value chain that is retained by these target beneficiaries, which currently hovers only between 10-20%.
Was it difficult to convince farmers and markets to be part of the platform?
Farmers and farmer groups – who are not necessarily tech savvy – were initially apprehensive. But as they appreciateed the market reach that it offers, including the operational efficiencies in overall supply chain transactions, they overcame their initial hesitation.
The response we got from most of the secondary cooperatives and federations were mixed. On one hand, they have some technical hurdles to address internally, particularly the integration of DeliverE into their incumbent IT systems. But they find the integration of their respective e-commerce sites to the platform still advantageous for them.
On the other hand, as they themselves have ongoing marketing agreements with their primary cooperative member organizations, fully utilizing the platform may have unforeseen implications in the federations’ revenue model for their members.
How about the bigger buyers?
For institutional buyers, quality assurance considerations, especially among the production practices as well as the produce of the farmers, took center stage. DeliverE has assured the exercise of quality control protocols within the value chain, particularly for the two retail-facing online stores that it directly supports – Gulay ng Bayan and Curaytive City Farms – and now including a similar operation by Sodexo.
However, for other institutional buyers, the platform could only conduct due diligence via the vetting of suppliers’ credentials through their submission of certifications from the Cooperative Development Administration or the Department of Agriculture, among others.
How does DeliverE factor into greater plans to ensure food security in the country?
DeliverE remains actively involved in various food security programs implemented by both the national government, through the Enhanced Partnership Against Poverty and Hunger – which is under the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger – and the private sector, through the Pilipinas Kontra Gutom movement.
In particular, DeliverE contributes to three of PKG’s four workstreams, on food availability and accessibility, assistance during times of crisis, and repurposing food surplus.
The logistics and technology forte of [platform developer] InsightSCS helps drive operational efficiencies in connecting suppliers and buyers, expand the market reach of our farmers and fisherfolk, improves shipping of goods, and automates transactional processes that take place in the platform. DeliverE also makes it easier for stakeholders to focus on improving their bottom lines and elevating customer satisfaction. It also strengthens involvement in initiatives that pursue social impact such as attaining reduced inequalities, promoting responsible consumption and production, attaining zero hunger, and espousing greater partnerships to achieve the Sutainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
How else can we leverage technologies to ensure greater prosperity for all, particularly those in underserved sectors?
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role being played by technologies. For example, fintech addresses financial inclusion. E-commerce helps promote continued consumption and sustains economic growth, albeit at a slow pace. Telemedicine enables doctor-patient interactions despite diminished physical interactions brought by various quarantine programs of government.
With greater adoption of technology solutions, our farmers and fisherfolk could have greater access to the marketplace, sustaining trade, which impact their lives and livelihoods – whether they are in the hinterlands or closer to urban areas, so long as they have access to telecommunication services.
These technologies also help provide insights in market dynamics that are crucial for our producers in their respective pricing strategies as well as in timing their production to coincide with the respective and anticipated demands of their clients.