The Department of Agriculture (DA) will launch a web site that will allow consumers to directly buy from farmers as part of its initiative to use technology to fix the disruption in the value chain caused by the pandemic.
The DA said it will launch on Monday ekadiwa.xyz, its first digital platform that seeks to connect producers directly to the consumers. Consumers could order fresh vegetables, fruits, meat fish, among others, through the online Kadiwa web site, according to the agency.
It added that the roll out of the online platform is part of the government’s initiatives to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by allowing domestic food trade to continue with lesser or without physical contact.
“The DA, with the guidance of President Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases [IATF-EID], is committed to help ‘flatten the curve’ and promote safety and convenience to all Filipino families in this ‘new normal’ era,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement.
The DA said the online Kadiwa also “paves the way to the digital transformation and automation of the agency, in its journey towards Agriculture 4.0, which focuses on precision agriculture, internet of things (IoT), and use of big data to attain efficiencies in the food value chain, amid rising populations and climate change.”
The DA added that initial partners of the ekadiwa.xyz are Zagana Inc., AgriNurture Inc., Benjabi Ventures Corp. and Mober Inc.
“Transport and delivery service providers Lalamove and Grab also signified to join the DA ekadiwa initiative,” the DA said.