TienDA launched at Abreeza Mall
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (Amad) Davao Region showcased fruits, vegetables, dairy, and seafood products from Mindanao at the Abreeza Ayala Malls from November 18 to 19 as part of the TienDA Farmers and Fishermen’s Outlet as a means to help eliminate middle men in agricultural trades.
Tienda is a food fair which serves as a marketing initiative of DA with the objective of providing a direct trading center for farmers and fisherfolk and will eventually eliminate cartels, middlemen, and dicers. This was first launched on July 28 at BPI compound in Manila.
“The sad story in the food supply chain in this country is that the trader and the middle men dictate how much the fisherman would earn from his catch or how much the farmer would earn from his produce. He also determines the price of his goods in the market. So it’s a food supply chain mostly controlled by middle men and traders. They earn more than the farmers,” said Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol during the launching of the TienDA Farmers and Fishermen’s Outlet in Abreeza Ayala Malls last November 18.
He added, as a result, consumers also pay more which affects the production of the farmers in general as well. As this is a big problem present in the sector for many years now, TienDA is one of the initiatives of the government in helping eliminate this and to further support farmers and fisherfolks.
Piñol also said the TienDA is a form of support of DA to the agricultural producers and to encourage the farmers to produce more. The outlets, he said, would ensure the farmers’ produce to be directly available to consumers.
The event was in partnership with Ayala Malls which also targets to create access market network for food producers and to bring TienDA outlets to other urban centers in the future.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who also graced the launching, expressed gratitude to the Ayala Corporation for taking part in the initiative of DA.