KUWAIT CITY, Oct 23: The Ministry of Social Affairs has agreed in principle to the initiative of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources, to establish and develop a national electronic platform called “Deirtna Farms” to support the marketing of local food produce by agricultural holdings affiliated to the Authority, reports Al- Jarida daily.

The sources told the daily that the ministry addressed the authority “that it sees no objection to adopting the establishment of the platform, in its capacity as a non-commercial governmental organization that gives cooperative societies the priority of purchasing their needs of national food products automatically,” noting that the ministry stressed the need to “take into account the platform decisions and regulations regulating cooperative work.

The sources added that “the coming period may witness the holding of joint meetings between officials of the ministry and the authority to set the controls and mechanisms for operating the platform that would expand the purchase of the local agricultural product in a way that benefits farmers, and prevents intermediaries in a way that reduces prices.”

On another topic, the sources revealed that the Assistant Undersecretary for Cooperation Sector Affairs in the Ministry directed the Department of Cooperative Control and Inspection to provide it with the extent of the commitment of all cooperatives to provide the strategic stock of goods and food and consumer items and the measures taken against associations that are not committed to the decisions issued in this regard, stressing the ministry’s keenness to Ensure that a strategic food stock is secured in the associations.