Manila, April 17 -- A member of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food is urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to continue seeking institutional partners to connect small farmers to markets, enhance the agricultural value chain, and help reduce crop wastage in the country.

This comes after DA recently announced that at least eight institutional buyers have expressed interest in sourcing red onions directly from Mindoro following a virtual market matching conducted on March 31.

The DA added that the potential monthly demand from these buyers ranges from five to 16 metric tons.

"Institutional partnerships are a good avenue that we can explore to ensure the livelihood of agricultural workers and minimize crop wastage. I hope tha...