MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region IV-B has unveiled the Katuwang sa Market (Kasama) marketing platform project for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan (Mimaropa), according to the agency on Friday.
The Kasama project aims to create greater value in the market chain for farmer beneficiaries’ regional cooperatives by collaborating with stakeholders and institutional buyers.
“There was an increase in post-harvest losses on rice, vegetables, and other major crops of about 10-30 percent. Most of the farmers have low access to timely and accurate information on market demands. In effect, depending on the need of the market, the supply side was not being maximized,” DAR Regional Director Marvin Bernal said in a statement.
According to Bernal, the project emerged at the height of the pandemic, where the major concern was the restrictions on local transport of the farmers’ produce. He added that the development intended to help the lives of farmers through increased income, ensured market, and the right pricing for their products.
Mimaropa has 288 agrarian cooperatives comprising 27,836 ARBs. Only 56 of the 288 cooperatives have marketing arrangements with institutional buyers.
“With [this] data, efforts in market accessibility are our utmost priority to make the farmers’ lives better,” the Regional Director said.
DAR said Kasama’s pilot run would have 58 agrarian cooperatives with over 6,000 members.
The agency also added that it is maximizing social media to promote the produce and products of the farmers, particularly in the accounts of DAR on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It will also improve the system on an easy access or on-hand information on the market information in the website.
Meanwhile, the project is a collaborative project of DAR, the Department of Agriculture, Mindoro State University, the Philippine Information Agency, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Provincial Local Government Unit of MiMaRoPa. — Mae Anne F. Bilolo, INQUIRER.net intern
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