DA: Farmers sold P2.589M worth of onions through direct market linkage initiative

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said onion farmers have sold P2.589 million worth of onions through its direct market linkage initiative, which removes middlemen.

In a statement, the DA said the initiative was in compliance with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to directly link food producers to consumers and institutional buyers.

The President is also the head of the DA.

“In compliance with the President’s directive, the DA enhanced its market linkage initiative to assist farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) across the country,” the Agriculture Department said.

The initiative, spearheaded by the DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), resulted in P2.589 million worth of onions sold by the FCAs to institutional buyers from September 2022 to January 2023, composed of 3,478 kilograms of red onions worth P755,455 and 5,106.38 kilograms of white onions worth P1.833 million.

According to the DA, the initiative allowed farmers to earn an additional P90,000 for every 1,000 kilograms.

“Last year, President Marcos announced he is determined to transform the Kadiwa project into a national program, in collaboration with the local government units (LGUs), to provide the public access to more affordable and high-quality merchandise and, at the same time, provide a market to local farmers, fishermen and small business enterprises,” the DA said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News