Online food sellers need govt support
The measures imposed by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19 have upended many lives, including those of nearly 5 million Filipinos who recently joined the ranks of the unemployed. This is largely because of the difficulties confronting the thousands of micro, small and medium enterprises that could no longer pay the salaries of employees. They are also having difficulties rebooting their operations as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the National Capital Region, which account for a third of the country’s gross domestic product.
Those who lost their jobs were forced to become entrepreneurs themselves by selling items online, including food products. These sellers are all over Facebook and Twitter, offering food items such as cakes, pastries and cooked meals. Customers get their orders via companies that offer delivery services, such as Grab and Lalamove.
Social-media sites are replete with stories about friends, relatives and neighbors who turned to cooking meals or baking bread products to tide them over. Some had even tried their hand at making their own processed meat products, such as longganisa, tapa or hot dogs. Unfortunately, some of these sellers never had any experience in making these products, which makes it harder for them to attract customers and have a steady income.
At a time when many companies are struggling to earn enough to keep their staff, there is little that government can do to stop the proliferation of individuals trying their hand at making cookies, baking cakes or cooking meals. Instead of regulating these sellers, government should consider helping them improve the quality of their products and ensure that they observe hygiene standards during preparation. Bettertasting and safe food items would mean more customers and a source of income that could tide them over while Covid-19 rages on.
Online courses being offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority should be promoted extensively to encourage sellers to expand their knowledge. On its web site (tesda.gov.ph), the agency offers courses on food processing, which includes a discussion on packaging and storing salted, cured and smoked products. Those interested in selling fermented products like yogurt and sugar-concentrated products like jams will find the Tesda web site useful.
The pandemic has been instructive in that it has shown Filipinos the importance of observing minimum health standards to avoid infection. The government can take this a step further by showing consumers and aspiring entrepreneurs the importance of adhering to good practices in making high quality products that are safe for consumption. These practices are essential if sellers have aspirations of eventually putting up their own business and tapping the international market after the pandemic.
Agencies should also make it easy for people to find the materials they need and to speak to competent state workers who can assist them. The Philippines can take a cue from Thailand, dubbed the kitchen of the world, which has invested heavily in innovations that allowed its food processing sector to flourish and become a major GDP contributor. Strong government support has given Thai businessmen the courage to invest in research and development to improve their products and eventually become one of the net food-exporting countries in the world.