Analysis on the Food Waste Management Practices and Strategies of Fruit and Vegetable Vendors in the Public Market of Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay

Date

1-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jeanette Angeline B. Madamba

Committee Member

Arlene C. Gutierrez, Mar B. Cruz, Loida E. Mojica, Mar B. Cruz

Restrictions

Restricted: Not available to the general public. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser and only to those bound by the confidentiality agreement.

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables were considered as the one of the primary drivers of food wastage among farmers and retailers especially when a large volume of it is left unsold or improperly managed. To combat this issue, several studies were conducted across the globe to unravel the reasons as to why fruits and vegetables were wasted along the supply chain, yet very minimal studies were conducted to investigate the case of food waste management in the Philippines particularly those managed in the public market. Thus, with this gap in mind, this study was primarily conducted to analyze the food waste management practices and strategies of fruits and vegetable public market vendors in Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay. Specifically, the objectives of this paper were to 1) Determine the profile of the fruit/vegetable public market vendors; 2) Quantify the volume and value of fruits/vegetable that goes to waste; 3) Identify the common factors/reasons why fruit/vegetable vendors incur food waste; 4) Determine the implication of fruit and vegetable wastage on the profitability of vendors and relevant business activities; and 5) Provide recommendations that will improve the current food waste management practices/strategies of fruit/vegetable market vendors.

For data collection and analysis, quantitative and qualitative research designs were utilized. Quantitative design was primarily used for the quantification and valuation of fruit and vegetable waste per vendor and it tallying responses, whereas qualitative design was used in profiling respondents, describing food waste management practices and strategies adopted by the vendors, and formulating interpretations. Aside from that, the food waste hierarchy framework was also utilized to illustrate and organize which level/s of food waste hierarchy that the current food waste management practices of vendors belonged and identify which level/s were widely practiced and not yet observed. Additionally, profitability assessment for each vendor was performed to determine the implication of food waste on the profitability of vendors and relevant business activities. To gather the necessary data, all 12 fruit and vegetable public market vendors in Titay were interviewed and surveyed, while a separate interview with the municipality's head of Department of Agriculture and DTI's Negosyo Center councilor were done to verify the responses from the respondents particularly on the trainings and interventions they have undergone in relation to food waste management.

Based on the results, for personal profiling, majority of the respondents were women, and have received intermediate level of education. Age classification was dominated by ages 24-54, whereas most of the respondents belonged to low-to-middle income class. Out of 12, eight respondents were identified to have alternative source of income which helped them increase their capital for fruit and vegetable selling. For the business profile, majority of the respondents were found out to regularly operate in the public market, except for one respondent who excludes weekends, from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. through renting stalls therein. To purchase the commodities to be sold, suppliers mentioned were from Cagayan de Oro City, sellers within Zamboanga Sibugay from the municipalities of Titay, Ipil, and Siay, and supplier from Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte. Transportation mode to deliver the commodities varied such that some relied from their supplier’s trucks/sidecar, commute, or utilize personal truck. Common packaging used to transport commodities were plastic and wooden crates, boxes, cellophanes, and sacks by which similar materials were used for storing and displaying the commodities in each vendor’s stall.

For the volume and value of fruits and vegetables wasted, high wastage was observed from vendors whose purchases were larger and have handled various commodity types compared to others. Notably, commodities with high wastage includes watermelon, banana varieties (lakatan, tundan, saba), cabbage, bell pepper and squash, while minimal to zero wastage were recorded for commodities identified as highly marketable, durable and purchased in low volumes. Survey results have also unraveled that common reasons/factors leading to fruit and vegetable wastage among vendors include lack of storage facility/equipment, lack of knowledge of Food Waste Management (FWM) practices and strategies , inexistent trainings available about FWM in the community, poor display area, limited over quality of fruits and vegetables handled, long travel distance, damage from delivery, poor market demand weather impacts, pest/insect infestation, and unavoidable ripening, yellowing, and rotting of commodities.

To minimize and recover potential financial losses from fruit and vegetable wastage, practices and strategies employed by vendors include sorting, cleaning, and washing the commodities before displaying them, application of "tawas" for preservation, converting ripening fruits into snacks or food products selling "sari-sari" vegetables and spices, refrigeration of commodities, donation to animal growers and carenderias, home consumption and gardening, composting (vermiculture). Yet, among the 12 respondents, only three respondents were able to practice value-adding practices to make a profitable venture out of the suboptimal commodities handled. Whereas, refrigeration of commodities was poorly used for preservation/storage of fruits and vegetables, since the same equipment is also used to preserve other grocery items/frozen goods being sold.

Upon assessing the profitability of vendors, results showed that wastage incurred by majority of vendors led to a decline 3-10% in their profit potential. Wheras, among the other financial items, purchases of vendors were found to be the major aspect that captured more than half of their sales suggesting that vendors should be cautious and conservative on how they conduct repurchases to manage their waste volumes given that waste percentages obtained from them were higher than those of the existing literatures. In relation to their relevant business activities, vendors were also assessed to poorly perform on marketing and promotion, establishing good negotiation and relational ties with customers and suppliers, and lack skills on financial management and pricing strategies.

Hence, recommendations to improve the current food waste management among vendors include careful monitoring of the available volume of fresh fruits and vegetables handled, improving storage practices for commodities by replacing obsolete storage materials and observing cleanliness in stall space, organization with other vendors when purchasing to similar suppliers to increase bargaining power, improvement on marketing and promotional strategies, and to maximize the power of selling at low prices rather than high prices. Additionally, recommendations formulated directed for LGU and other supporting organization in Titay in lieu of improving the food waste management practices of vendors included provision of financial support, greater selling space for vendors by allowing them to utilize the backside of their stalls, conducting on-site trainings and workshops that introduce innovations, technologies, practices, and strategies on food waste management, advertisement of vendors' value-added products through Negosyo Center's web page and other social media platforms and installation of food banks and monetization of food waste.

Language

English

LC Subject

Fruit trade--Philippines, Vegetable trade--Philippines, Refuse and refuse disposal--Research

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2023 M17 D54

Document Type

Thesis

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