WITH MORE than 70% of the Philippine economy being consumer-reliant, the COVID-19 lockdown has brought an unprecedented economic crisis as businesses struggle to stay afloat in the face of decreased customer flow. The agrifood industry, in particular, has been experiencing disruptions in the supply and demand components of the food system.

Given the recent strain on food distribution, agriculturalists are pushed to adapt the food system to a “new normal”—a setting with restricted mobility. As an industry faced with crop surplus and the continued mandate to bring produce to families’ tables, the food system may unlock new doors through e-commerce.

The virtual market

Although the agrifood industry visibly suffered due to COVID-19, its vulnerabilities are not new. Quezon City (QC) Sustainable Development Affairs Unit Head and QC Food Security Task Force co-chairperson Emmanuel Velasco stated that the food system, which pertains to the flow of food from producers to consumers, has been grappling with food insecurity even before the pandemic.

Velasco stated that prior the possibility of transitioning agri-food businesses online was already considered before the lockdown, but online shopping and e-wallets were popular only among younger generations. However, Velasco noted that out of necessity, older generations have now adapted transactions to the online setting. Alongside this, the emergence of online platforms for agritrade has heightened to further ensure food availability and accessibility, as well as protect vulnerable communities from the virus.

For instance, the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched e-commerce website eKadiwa to facilitate the exchange of perishable goods. Velasco said that Viber and Facebook community groups in QC have been facilitating neighborhoods’ bulk purchases of fresh produce.

Shaky ground

While agricultural e-commerce presents the prospect of sectoral growth and food security, its promise of accessibility is subject to question. According to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, 22 million Filipinos are either severely food-insecure or have had to go one day or longer without eating. Listed as most vulnerable to food insecurity in the report are “landless poor households, indigenous people, [and the] population engaged in unsustainable livelihood strategies.”

Velasco surmised that these food-insecure sectors might hardly benefit as consumers of online markets, and that such innovations are moot to those who cannot access the goods for sale.

Another hurdle is that online shops will require physical warehousing for storage. Besides this, Velasco stated that farmers may be pushed to increase their produce in order to meet the greater demands of e-commerce.

Without developed logistics, e-commerce may prove unsustainable. Velasco added that this platform must first be developed holistically across all fronts—from production to distribution—to achieve long-term success. Besides logistical issues, current farming methods require innovation such that they match the increased customer demand. Hence, a digitized and mechanized farm sector may not only encourage efficient production, it can also help tackle issues surrounding food security.

Velasco also highlighted that an e-commerce review system can foster dynamic relationships between producers and consumers, as farmers will now receive direct feedback on their produce. This brings a clearer channel for communication and accountability between both ends of the food system, ensuring consistent and quality goods in turn. Through the collective innovation of the food system, agricultural e-commerce can usher in drastic improvements to the lives of farmers and consumers alike.

Budding opportunity

Historically, lines of middlemen held immense control over farmgate and retail prices, as they facilitated key processes such as marketing and distribution. Velasco stressed that even with agricultural e-commerce, middlemen will continue to profiteer the evolving market unless farmers are able to manage their business independently. However, reducing the journey from farm to table to a single or two-step delivery as markets are transitioned online can incur less costs for farmers—and with this, gradually diminish the middleman’s role in the industry.

The QC Food Security Task Force has, among other efforts, cultivated community farms and developed food processing zones for food and input production, food processing, and food trade for capacity-building. Given such initiatives, these communities of urban farmers might approach online marketplaces as producers, reversing their initially strained relationship with marketplaces.

E-commerce may be the solution to the agrifood industry’s long-rooted issues, but it is only one of many. The DA, along with local government units, must invest in the entire food system and holistically support it. Once these developments are evident in the food system, then e-commerce’s promises will begin to materialize.