Suppliers in Luzon need food passes to have unhampered delivery of their commodities to Manila

(Infographic by the Department of Agriculture)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office here has asked suppliers of agri-fishery products in Central Luzon to apply now for a food pass for unhampered delivery of their commodities to Metro Manila and other areas under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Food passes are important to ensure smooth transport of agri-fishery produce such as fruits, vegetables, rice, fish, poultry, livestock and agri-based products, and agri-fishery inputs like fertilizers, feeds, and others. 

Metro Manila needs to keep the deliveries arriving in order to keep supermarket shelves well stocked during the current pandemic.

Charito Libut, marketing specialist of the DA-3 (Central Luzon) Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD), said on Thursday that food pass accreditation is through online application.

“Go to http://agribusiness.da.gov.ph for details and forms that need to be answered,” Libut said in an official social media account post.

For those suppliers who do not have access online, Libut said they may visit the DARFO3-AMAD Office which is in Barangay Sto. Niño, Capitol Compound, this city.

However, she said food passes issued last year can still be used by suppliers in transporting their agricultural products to areas covered by ECQ.

“For those who lost their food pass, they may go to the DARFO3-AMAD Office or call 963-5751 or email [email protected] to answer their questions regarding food pass”, she said.

Some 9,000 agri-fishery suppliers in the region have been given food passes last year.

On the other hand, a total of only 262 food passes have so far been issued this year.  (PNA)