Analysis of Sweet Potato Production and Marketing in Tabaco City, Albay

Date

5-2018

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Gemma U. Reyes

Committee Member

Dia Noelle F. Velasco, Glenn N. Baticados, Agnes T. Banzon, Normito Zapata, Jr.

Abstract

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), locally known as camote, is one of the top agricultural crops produced in Bicol region and is extensively recognized by Filipinos as a traditional part of their diet, specifically as merienda. This study was conducted to evaluate the current performance of the sweet potato producers in Tabaco City, Albay where it is known to be widely produced.

The general objective of this study is to present and analyze the current status and problems and formulate recommendations for the improvement of the production and marketing of sweet potato in Tabaco City, Albay. Specifically, this study aimed to show the personal profiles of the key players who are involved in the production and marketing of sweet potato in Tabaco City. Moreover, it described the production and marketing practices of the key players and analyze the cost and returns in production and marketing. It also determined the problems encountered in the production and marketing of the crop and recommended potential solutions to the problems met.

There are two key players identified in this study, mainly sweet potato farmers and sweet potato traders. The researcher was able to interview 150 respondents, composed of 143 farmers and 7 traders from different barangays of Tabaco City, Albay. A total of 89 farmers were classified as operating in large-scale farming (4 hectares and above), 33 farmers in medium-scale (1 to 3 hectares) and 21 farmers in small-scale/backyard farming (less than one hectare). Primary data were obtained through a face-to-face interview using snowball or referral method, which is a non-probabilistic sampling technique. On the other hand, secondary data and other plausible information related to sweet potato were gathered through related studies and researches about sweet potato farming in the Philippines and in other countries. Furthermore, statistical data were obtained from government, non- government institutions and local authorities such as Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), and from barangay officials of the six (6) barangays treated as the study areas. In addition, descriptive type of research design was employed in this study to integrate various analyses namely dominant economic traits, key success factors, and strong and weak points of the production and marketing of sweet potato.

Results showed that sweet potato farming is done by both male and female since it is a joint effort of the heads of the family. Moreover, these individuals did not finish their secondary and tertiary education and rely mainly on producing the crop as their primary source of income. In Tabaco City, Albay, Barangay Hacienda has the most number of sweet potato farmers while Barangat Sua-Igot has the least. It was also identified that majority of the farmers are producing sweet potato for almost 25 years already and that 66% of them were land owners. The widely planted variety of camote in the area is the Sorsoganon variety. In addition, it was known that most farmers solely depend on sweet potato farming as their source of income although some of them have other jobs. Moreover, all of them learned to plant camote from their families and relatives. Production practices include land preparation (spraying of Furadan, plowing, and harrowing), planting, cultivation and weeding, harvesting, and post-harvest operations (cleaning and packaging). As for the marketing aspect, all key players were interviewed. Small-scale farmers generally sell their produce to direct consumers while medium and large-scale farmers sell them to traders. There are two types of traders. One is the traders who sell sweet potatoes within Bicol region only, particularly in Sto. Domingo, Daraga, Malilipot and Naga, on a per kilogram basis. Second is the traders who sell the produce in Metro Manila on a per sack basis. Based on the cost and return analysis of these traders, the former has higher net profit. However, some still prefer to sell in Metro Manila since payment is received immediately and in full amount, as compared to retail traders who only sell one sack in two days on the average.

The identified dominant economic traits of sweet potato are market size, scope of competitive rivalry, entry and exit barriers, and diseconomies of scale. Moreover, the Product Flow Analysis identified the factors that regulate the movement of the sweet potato from producers to consumers.

In the Porter’s framework of sweet potato farmers, intensity of competitive rivalry is low, threat of new entrants is moderate, threat of substitutes is low, bargaining power of buyers depends on the market supply of the crop, and bargaining power of suppliers is low.

On the other hand, in the Porter’s framework of sweet potato traders, intensity of competitive rivalry is low, threat of new entrants is high, threat of substitutes is low, and bargaining power of buyers and suppliers also depend on the market supply of sweet potato.

In the cost and return analysis, the net profit obtained for the small-scale operation in one cropping season is Php 5,360.58. For the medium-scale operation, the net profit computed is Php 16,970.01 in one cropping season. Lastly, the net profit calculated for the large-scale operation is Php 21,766.68.

The key success factors were also determined, namely variety of sweet potato planted and skilled sweet potato farmers.

The problems identified in the production of sweet potato are absence of equipment and technologies for sweet potato processing, lack of capital to sustain farming operations, absence of credit institutions that offer low interest, infestation of mice, and continuous rainfall and occurrence of El Niño. On the marketing side, the problems determined are high transportation cost and fast spoilage of sweet potato.

After thorough analysis of the current status and performance of sweet potato production and marketing in Tabaco City, Albay, the researcher was able to formulate recommendations to address the problems of sweet potato farmers and traders. For the farmers, it is recommended that they venture into sweet potato processing by making delicacies like camote cue, camote fries, kalingking, buchi, camote chips and taldis (camote candy). A tabular summary was presented, and it showed that farmers will get incremental income from selling these sweet potato products. Moreover, they can organize themselves and form a cooperative so that they will be in better position in pricing their produce. They can also make natural food color from sweet potato and synthetic color for leathers, fabrics and textiles. In addition, they can form a samahan or cooperative of farmers that will sell the products made from camote tops. For the traders, they can employ the buy-and-sell strategy in the sweet potato products made by farmers which will give them additional income as well. Lastly, for the government institutions, linking credit institutions to farmers that offer low interest will resolve the lack of capital of farmers and their tendency to borrow from informal lenders with very high interest. They can also implement credit programs for the farmers. Additionally, they can provide processing equipment and technologies for further processing of sweet potato into wines, noodles, catsup, and bread and pastry products. Also, they can provide storage service facility so that farmers can make an inventory of sweet potatoes. It is also recommended for some government agencies to invest on research and development on anti-spoilage method for sweet potatoes.

Language

English

LC Subject

Sweet potato industry, Production control, Marketing

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2018 M17 A35

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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