Startup Agro-Digital brings its expertise in technology and farming to revolutionize agri-fishery value chains. Using their robust eCommerce platform, they partner with organized fishing communities to meet the growing market demand for responsibly sourced seafood.
Batangas-based startup Agro-DigitalPH established an online eCommerce platform in 2019 in an effort to bring farmers online, and shorten the fruit and vegetable supply chain. The startup aimed to build regional economies and trade routes by identifying areas with stable consumption patterns and organizing producers to supply these centers, fostering a more sustainable and equitable agro-digital ecosystem.
In 2022, the USAID Fish Right Program launched a digital marketplace for sustainable seafood in the Philippines called Juan Catch and sent out an open call for adopters of the platform with QBO Innovation Hub, a public-private incubator. Agro-DigitalPH won the innovation challenge with the proposal to integrate Juan Catch with their existing digital platform to create a unified, multi-produce digital value chain.
Supply and demand consolidation for Agro-DigitalPH’s products are done digitally through a platform that acts as an online marketplace. Currently, the startup distributes blue swimming crab, red crab, squid, galunggong (roundscad), dalagang bukid (yellowtail fusilier), and dried fish through partner communities across the Visayan Sea such as Igbon, Concepcion, Iloilo, and Roxas, Capiz.
Agro-DigitalPH aims to understand and leverage the seasonality and availability of fish and fish products to optimize food cost while minimizing environmental impact. Aligning production and consumption with nature’s cycles reduces the need for excessive inputs, and mitigates illegal or overfishing practices. Their continued support to RSS-compliant fishers helps promote better income and sustainable livelihoods, while urging institutional buyers to prioritize their products.
