USAID allots P20 million for Deliver-e expansion

MANILA, Philippines — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is allocating a grant of close to P20 million the future improvement and expansion of the digital platform that will link Luzon farmers to buyers in Metro Manila.

At the official launch of the Deliver-e Monday, USAID Philippines acting mission director Patrick Wesner said the agency recognizes the potential of the platform in sustaining and accelerating economic activity in the country.

“This expansion seeks to improve user interface, onboard more farmer cooperatives and institutional buyers, and integrate supply and demand analytics functions that can help inform government policies and interventions to strengthen the country’s agribusiness value chain,” Wesner said.

Deliver-e is a digital platform that connects farmers to buyers through an efficient and transparent end-to-end market-based system. It operates through a sophisticated blockchain technology developed by a Filipino tech startup, Insight Supply Chain Solutions (InsightSCS).

The platform 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 initiative will allow consumers to have access to agricultural products by eliminating the layers of traders. It is a win-win strategy for both farm producers and consumers.

Since the pilot of the project in April, Wesner said Deliver-e has helped over 600 farmers from Luzon and a number of provinces in Mindanao transport around 300 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables worth approximately P7.2 million to 35,000 buyers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

“Through this platform, farmers have doubled their income and their post harvest losses have declined from about 50 percent to only about five percent,” Wesner said.

Alongside the official launch of the platform, a pledge signing activity to edify the partnership of Deliver-e’s agriculture value chain stakeholders was also held with government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), as well as the office of the Cabinet Secretary.

Stakeholder groups also took part in the pledge, particularly the Supply Chain Management of the Philippines (SCMAP), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and AgriCOOPh.

“With the sheer size of agricultural supply chains, only a multi-stakeholder approach to their management could free up the bottlenecks,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

Dar said that the DA would hold up its commitment to the project by keeping to the targets it has set for the agriculture sector under Plant, Plant, Plant, and as part of the agency’s usual responsibilities.

“This multi-stakeholder event sparks hope that many heads are coming together to assist key supply chain players with their technological needs and constraints. I extend my gratitude for this project and wish all the stakeholders present today more power,”Dar said.

Deliver-e is part of a P900 million USAID initiative to advance the country’s competitiveness and boost trade and investment, especially for micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises.