(PNA file image)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Department of Agriculture-Central Luzon (DA-3) is vigorously promoting digital marketing strategies to the agri-fishery sector in the region.
Through the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), a series of training on digital marketing has been conducted for various groups and individuals in the region’s agri-fishery industry that could provide a wider platform to reach potential consumers and markets.
DA Central Luzon Regional Technical Director and PRDP Project Director Arthur Dayrit said on Thursday that modern techniques in agricultural marketing are necessary amid the growing competition in the industry.
Dayrit cited the need to accelerate the integration of digital technologies in the food value chain and logistics that will be beneficial both to producers and consumers.
“It is a step towards enhancing the capacity of those in the agri-fishery sector which elevated their way of marketing their products,” he said in a news program.
Maricel Dullas, chief of the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division Region 3, said the modernization of agricultural production such as the use of high-yielding variety seeds and increased farm mechanization have helped farmers improve their productivity but also gave rise to the challenge of marketing surplus and keeping them at a fair price.
“Thus, we are encouraging them to embrace the digitalization of marketing their products for a wider reach and faster transactions with potential customers and business partners,” she said.
Dullas said that groups involved in the production and processing of various commodities such as mangoes, goat products, and other crops that underwent digital marketing training in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija last June 29-30 were taught how to create a social media platform such as a Facebook page and design content using the free-to-use graphic design tool, Canva.
“The participants demonstrated enthusiasm on the topic by attentively listening to the discussed principles of digital marketing and actively participated in the workshop by applying the different digital marketing strategies that would help them expand their market,” she said.
Meanwhile, training participants are hopeful that with the use of modern marketing strategies, they will be able to grow their enterprises and reach a wider market for their products.
“We were able to identify the different strategies for advertising and promoting our products to be able to reach our customers,” said Florlinda Trino, president of the Palayan City Mango Growers Association. (PNA)
