Online greens

Today you can buy many things online, including the latest gadgets, clothes and fashion accessories, tools and medicine.

Now, even your favorite Benguet vegetables are now available for order online.

Session Groceries, a Baguio-based online store, has begun selling vegetables from Benguet as part of its effort to help farmers in the province who are reeling from overproduction of vegetables. Reports earlier said farmers were forced to dump their excess produce as prices dropped dramatically due to oversupply.

“We thought we could help connect the consumers and the farmers,” said Iloisa Diga in a TV interview. “By selling online, we could help solve the high prices of vegetables in Metro Manila and help the farmer market his produce.”

Customers have to visit the website of Session Groceries to order Benguet vegetables.

Among veggies available for sale in the website include high-value vegetables such as lettuce, carrots, snowpeas (chicharo) and sayote, as well as the common eggplant, ampalaya and even kangkong.

However, Diga admits that they have only limited capability to service orders from Metro Manila. Despite this, many Benguet farmers expressed appreciation for the help of the online store.

“They were really helping us dispose our produce and get a good enough price so we can at least avoid selling at a loss,” said farmer Rowell Kimayong in a separate TV interview.

Of course, the online store charges a shipping fee in bringing the vegetables to the door or the consumers, but many customers see it as reasonable. Many shoppers buy in bulk to save on shipping fee.

Now, that’s a better way of using the Internet rather than just playing Farmville.