A Study on Dragon Fruit Farming in the Philippines: the Case of Mr. Wei's Farm

Date

12-2019

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Nanette A. Aquino

Committee Member

Normito R. Zapata, Jr., Hanna D. Miranda-Quibot, Nohreen Ethel P. Manipol

Abstract

Dragon fruit farming in the Philippines proves to be a lucrative farming business to venture in. Although a relatively young industry, being only starting to be prominent in the country during the 1990s-2000s era, the fruit has risen to popularity because of its health benefits which reciprocates today’s consumers’ desire for healthier products, due to their increasing heath-awareness and a shift to a healthier lifestyle. Although the Philippines is far from being in the same league with dragon fruit-producing juggernauts like Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, the dragon fruit industry in the Philippines is on the right track and prospects are good for the future of the industry, as the crop is now valued as a high-value crop in the Ilocos region and is receiving government support for S&T interventions.

One of the dragon fruit farmers in the Philippines is Mr. Kun Sheng Wei, owner of a 2.7- hectare farm, located in Tiaong, Quezon. The farm practices organic farming of dragon fruit since 2010 and has been receiving planting materials and technical knowledge on dragon fruit farming from his father and brother in Taiwan, who have a successful dragon fruit plantation there. The farm also has three quail egg hatchery houses which supply the organic fertilizer input for composting of the farm’s fertilizer needs.

The study generally evaluated the performance of Mr. Wei’s dragon fruit farm. Specifically, the study aimed to: 1) present the profile of Mr. Wei’s dragon fruit farm; 2) assess the external and internal environment of Mr. Wei’s dragon fruit farm; 3) determine the problems and issues faced by Mr. Wei’s dragon fruit farm; 4) formulate recommendations that will address the problems and issues; and 5) design an implementation plan for the formulated recommendations.

The study used the descriptive research design. The data used were both primary and secondary. Primary data were gathered by means of personal interviews with key informants and keen observation. Secondary data were sourced from undergraduate special problems of the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, published books and manuals, statistics websites, government websites, and other online sources.

The case problem of the study was stated as: “how can the farm increase its profitability in order to ensure its sustainability and growth?” The research results revealed that there were problems on low productivity of Mr. Wei’s Farm due to the low number of posts and lack of pest/disease control measures. In addition, there was poor marketing, underpriced produce, and it was sold to only one consumer since the beginning of its operations, which has led to low revenues.

In order to solve the key problem areas of the farm, the paper recommends that the farm should mainly focus on improving the operations and marketing functions of the business, by investing in and adapting proper pest and disease control measures, having Mr. Wei’s dragon fruit certified as organic by the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), producing more quail manure compost, increasing the number of posts per hectare, selling the dragon fruit cutting from the pruning activities, updating pricing and product value offering, updating distribution channel and promotional techniques, and implementing a formal bookkeeping system and more strategic management approach. to increase revenues. An implementation plan was prepared and impact of this recommendation to the four business functions was also presented.

Language

English

LC Subject

Farm produce--Philippines, Agricutlure, Farm management

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2019 M17 R47

Notes

Viewing access to electronic resources is restricted solely to UP Gmail accounts. Any access and share requests from external organizations and personal email accounts will be promptly declined.

Document Type

Thesis

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS