An e-commerce platform to be piloted in a conflict area in Negros Oriental is seen to benefit farmers and the hospitality industry by bringing them together for online buying and selling.

AgroDigital PH will soon be introduced in the province and will be piloted in Valencia town’s Barangay Dobdob and Sta. Catalina’s Barangay Talalak, Krystle Jade Bato, focal person of the provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Dumaguete City said on Friday, September 29.

This is an initiative of the Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Employment Cluster (PRLEC) of the provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC), with an initial funding of P500,000 from the provincial government, Bato said in a meeting with cluster members.

“We will leverage the existing operational AgroDigital PH platform where farmers’ products are being uploaded for sale, while the requirements of hotels, resorts and restaurants will also be on the same website,” she said.

Part of the e-platform will be specific for Negros Oriental where these buyers and sellers get to meet online and engage directly with each other, she added.

The e-commerce platform is one of the approaches of the task force to aid farmers in barangays affected by the communist insurgency to increase their market while eliminating middlemen.

Bato said they are in the process of resource mapping in Barangay Dobdob to identify the vegetables, crops, and other farm produce and the volume that would be available once the e-commerce platform is up and running.

Technical training will also be provided for certain individuals in the Dobdob-Talalak area on the use of the online marketplace, she said.

Meanwhile, PRLEC members representing different sectors welcomed the move, saying this would definitely boost the income and livelihood of farmers in communist-affected barangays.

The e-commerce platform is expected to take off by December, once preparations have been completed, she said. (PNA)