TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (August 6)—A partnership with an agri-tech company will create wider online market access for Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Leah Pulido Ocampo, DTI-Region 2 director, said it forged a partnership with Mayani Inc. through a virtual signing of a memorandum of understanding last July 29.

She explained the strategic intent of the collaboration is to create broader market access for smallholder farmers, farmer cooperatives and MSMEs across the Region 2 through e-commerce and innovative agri-food supply chain technology.

“The DTI in Region 2 and Mayani share a common mission to enable a level playing field to the advantage of our smallholder farmers and MSMEs where the DTI will serve as the catalytic conduit to facilitate Mayani’s engagement with these groups,” Ocampo said.

On the other hand, Mayani’s e-commerce platform will efficiently connect small farmers and MSMEs to potential buyers and the untapped markets outside Region 2,” she added.

In 2019, Mayani started as a social-impact driven agri-tech company that connects farmers and buyers including consumers, resellers, restaurant chains and multinational brands in a unified digital technology platform.

Jeffrey Barreiro, Mayani founder and executive chairman, said the company has a 5,000 strong community and over 600 farmer-partners across Luzon.

“We turn what people have been calling as the new normal to not just the new normal but a new and good normal where small farmers and producers get a fair price for their harvest; and where, with a collaborative spirit and exchange of data, access to the market is made more simple and more direct,” he added.

Ocampo said the MoU also encompasses collaborations within fields deemed to be mutually acceptable to both parties such as joint community building; research activities like industry outlooks and reports; visits by and exchange of technical personnel and other staff; network sharing; and other initiatives that promote competitiveness, innovation and resilience in Region 2’s industries and services.

In June, 245 smallholder farmers in Barangay Mataddi, Nagtipunan town in Quirino province were linked by DTI-Region 2 to Mayani.

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (August 1)—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) has distributed bamboo plant starter kits to residents of at least six localities in Cagayan province under the Pangkabuhayan sa pagBangon at Ginhawa (PBG) program.

Bamboo growing is being promoted by various government agencies to also help address environmental issues. The plant produces oxygen and reduces carbon dioxide while providing raw materials for the manufacture of various products, thus reducing the need to cut down trees.

Leah Pulido Ocampo, DTI-Region 2 director, said they would like to encourage farmers to grow more bamboos with propagules they distributed to beneficiaries in the towns of Baggao, Buguey, Sanchez Mira, Claveria, Piat and Tuguegarao City, all in this province.

With Ocampo during the turnover ceremony and awarding of kits were Samuel Garcia, chairman of the Cagayan Valley Bamboo Industry Development Council; and Leonardo Urata, DTI-Cagayan Business Development Division chief.

“The P8,000 kit includes 100 pieces of bamboo propagules, 200 pieces of seedling bags and one set of basic tools for propagation consisting of pruning shear, pruning saw, hand trowel, shovel, digging bar, pick mattock and bolo,” Ocampo said.

She said part of the awarding of the starter kits is a virtual bamboo training for recipients to teach them the technology of growing the plant.

“I would like us to already plant the seeds as early as now so that our children’s children will be able to see that vision coming to fruition,” Ocampo said adding that the department in the region is partnering with local government units to implement a bamboo development project.

She said the DTI initiative is expected to create more livelihood for the people of Cagayan Valley and will help address environmental issues.

“I am very optimistic that bamboo products will soon become one of the driving economic industries in the Cagayan Valley region,” Ocampo added.