Market Potential of Hydroponic Lettuce in Los Baños, Laguna, 2024

Date

6-2024

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jayson S. Cabral

Committee Member

Geny F. Lapiña, Ma. Angeles O. Catelo

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the market potential of hydroponic lettuce in Los Baños, Laguna. A total of 100 household food decision-maker respondents were selected through systematic random sampling, and 11 out of 18 food establishments were identified by complete enumeration. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using survey questionnaires, while data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, estimation of market potential, and chi-square test. Resultsshowed that the household food decision-makers were comprised of young, female adults, who had 11 to 14 years of formal education, were married, had 4 to 6 household members, and were earning less than PhP10,957. For the food establishments, business characteristics varied in terms of the type of business, years in business ranged from 1 to 9 years in operation, the scale of the business was mostly micro-businesses, and their monthly income ranged from PhP5,000 to PhP150,000. They use lettuce as a side dish for their rice meals, salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, burritos, and bentos. Respondent’s awareness showed that only 50 percent were aware of hydroponics from household consumers while 81.82 percent of food establishments. Their source of awareness came from social media or the internet. Household respondents had a low level of knowledge regarding hydroponics, while food establishment respondents had a low to moderate level of knowledge. Despite their knowledge level, both perceived hydroponic lettuce positively. Results also showed that the majority of the household respondents and food establishment respondents were willing to pay for hydroponic lettuce. In terms of their lettuce buying pattern, most of the household consumers bought 1 to 5 pieces and 1 to 2 times a month. The majority purchased their lettuce from the wet market. For food establishment respondents, most of them used 8 to 121 lettuce pieces, purchased 8 to 95 lettuce pieces and a frequency of 3 to 9 times a month, and spent PhP250 to PhP1,449 in a month. Most of them got their lettuce from Los Baños, specifically at the public market or at the Pamilihang Bayan ng Batong Malake. The Chi-square test showed that civil status and awareness had a significant relationship with willingness to pay. The market potential for household consumers per month at the lowest price WTP ranged from PhP 12,806.80 to PhP998,930.40; at current selling price of PhP35 is PhP3,944,494.40; and at the highest price WTP ranged from PhP76,840.80 to PhP1,120,595.00. For institutional buyers, the market potential per month at the lowest price WTP ranged from PhP 196.34 to PhP23,364.94; at current selling price of PhP35 is PhP 40,665.96; and at the highest price WTP ranged from PhP10,308.06 to PhP26,702.78. It can be concluded that hydroponic lettuce had market potential in Los Baños, Laguna for household consumers, compared to institutional buyers. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended to launch educational campaigns, allocate R&D funds, and implement a certification system to increase awareness and knowledge. Additionally, implementing a dynamic pricing strategy and production flexibility was recommended to maintain competitiveness of hydroponic lettuce.

Language

English

LC Subject

Hydroponics, Lettuce industry

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2024 A14 P55

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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