Results of Xavier University College of Agriculture in the Periurban Vegetable Project

Workpackage 1: Economic, sociological and anthropological situation of periurban vegetable production, consumption and marketing in Cagayan de Oro

General information

Cagayan de Oro is located along the central coast of Northern Mindanao, Southern Philippines (8º latitude North, 125º longitude East). The city municipality is divided into 80 local administration units (so-called barangays), 57 of which are considered as urban and 23 as periurban. Its total land area is about 49,000 hectares. Forty four point seven percent (44.7 %) of its territory are considered as agricultural areas and 38.4 % as open spaces. At present, the number of population living in city is about 500,000. In 1903, the population was about 21,000. Some 36 years later, the population had doubled. Since then, the doubling of population was experienced in successively shorter spans. Right now, the annual growth rate is 4.4%, almost double compared to the Philippine national growth rate of 2.3% only.

Methodology

The socioeconomic survey was conducted within different urban and periurban districts of Cagayan de Oro City. The total number of respondents was 300, comprising 100 vegetable growers, 100 vendors and 100 consumers, who were systematically sampled in random. Among the 100 vegetable vendors, 87 were retailers and 17 wholesalers. In the same token, the 100 consumers comprised three categories, namely 62 respondents from the high-income class, 8 respondents from the middle-income class and 30 respondents from the low-income class. The survey questionnaire contained questions pertaining to socioeconomic status, vegetable consumption patterns, vegetable production practices, marketing systems, and household and waste disposal practices. Data were processed using MINITAB Software 12.0 and were analyzed by applying descriptive statistics.

Results

Socioeconomic Profile

The mean number of household members of all respondents is 6.4, the average number of children-ever born is 4.4. It is lowest among consumers (3.7) and highest among farmers (5.2). 30 % of the respondents finished college or have a post graduate level. Most of them belong to the high-income group (76 %) while only 14 % of the farmer respondents were able to achieve this educational attainment.

80 % of the respondents are self-employed. It his highest among vendors (100 %) and farmers (98 %) and lowest among consumers from the middle class (63 %). Monthly household income varies widely depending on type of respondent. Highest household income was attained by wholesale vendors (PhP 81,600; 1 US$ = 40 PhP), followed by consumers living in the upper-class subdivision (PhP 18,000) and retail vendors (PhP 14,300). The farmer respondents avail of the lowest monthly income (PhP 6,500). 55 % of all respondents own the lot where their house it built. Ownership is highest among farmers (66 %) and lowest among vendors (42 %).

Vegetable Consumption

85 % of the farmer respondents consume vegetables daily compared to 64 % of the higher-class consumers only. 88 % of all respondents consume vegetables due to its high nutritional value. When asked about the consumption of eight selected vegetables (among those with the highest trading value in the Cagayan de Oro wholesale market), 95 % of all respondents consume tomato, 88 % eggplant, 83 % bell pepper, 72 % head cabbage, 58 % papaya, 27 % cauliflower, 23 % soybean, and 12 % yambean. The monthly consumption of these vegetables per household ranges from 0.9 kg for soybeans to 3.5 kg for tomatoes. Based on these responses, the estimated daily per capita consumption of vegetables is less than 100 grams which is consistent with other reports. Consumers further reported that they are willing to pay an add-on price of 20% if vegetables are produced without pesticides, however are free from blemishes and other damages.

Vegetable Production

The average farm size among farmers is 1.7 hectares. Of this, about half hectare is planted with vegetables. During the past 12 months, 51 % of all farmers grew eggplant (Solanum melongena), 34 % squash (Cucurbita maxima), 31 % string beans (Vigna sesquipedalis), 25 % tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), and 18 % each bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) and bitter gourd (Momordica charantia). Vegetable production is basically for family consumption, as admitted by 84 % of the farmer respondents. 64 % said they are producing vegetables for extra income and 44 % as their only means for livelihood. 62 % of the respondents are members of farmers’ cooperatives or associations while 38 % have no affiliations.

86 % reported that they applied fertilizers in the last three croppings. Those who did not apply any fertilizer had no capital (35 %), considered their soil as fertile enough (29 %) or commented that fertilizers are detrimental to the soil as it increases acidity (21 %). Further 7 % said that applying fertilizers would just be a waste of money because they till a small area only. Among those who applied fertilizers, 72 % used urea (46-0-0), 60 % complete fertilizer (14-14-14), 48 % muriate of potash (0-0-60) and 21 % ammonium sulfate (21-0-0). 23 % used organic fertilizers, either chicken dung (15 %), cattle manure (4 %) or compost (4 %).

46 % of the farmers get water for irrigation from a river or creek, 20 % from deep wells, 11 % from irrigation canals while 12 % depend on rainfall only. 59 % are irrigating their fields manually with sprinkler cans or other tools while 23 % are using water pumps with attached pipes and hoses. 2 % of all farmers avail of drip irrigation. 60 % of the farmers respondents encountered problems with irrigation which was mostly irregular water supply (72 %). Only 15 % of the growers practice mulching. Rice straw is the most popular mulching material (53 %), followed by rice hulls (13 %), dried banana leaves (13 %), sphagnum moss (13 %), saw dust (6 %), and weeds (6 %).

82 % of the farmers controlled actively pests, diseases and weeds in the last three croppings. 90 % used insecticides, 36 % fungicides, 4 % herbicides and 50 % natural control measures. Among those were handpicking of larvae (16 %) smudging (16 %) and light trapping (3 %) as mechanical control methods. 10 % applied soap solution and few used botanicals such as hot pepper and tobacco extracts. 49 % of those who applied synthetic pesticides encountered ill-effects the last time they sprayed such as head ache (55 %), nausea (31 %) and chest pain (14 %). 84 % are using protective measure while spraying such as a nose cover (70 %), long sleeve shirt (53 %) and long pants (37 %). 34 % use gloves, 19 % a cover all and 4 % boots.

24 % of the farmers heard of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program of the government and 12 % of them received training. The impact of the IPM training was ambivalent, as 36 % increased the level of pesticide use after receiving the training, 36 % maintained the same level of pesticide use, and 73 % just changed the commercial brand of their pesticides. Only 27 % reported that they decreased the level of pesticide application, using less toxic chemicals after receiving the IPM training.

Vegetable farmers mentioned more than fifteen constraints to higher vegetable production, among those are high night temperatures (63 %), pests (53 %), lack of capital (53 %) and irregular water supply (23 %). Among other limitations in vegetables farming are presence of plant diseases (7 %), poor soil fertility (7 %), poor water quality (5 %), and lack of access to marketing (3 %).

Vegetable marketing

92 % of the farmers have sold vegetables in the last 12 months. Among those, 80 % sold it to wholesalers, 13 % to retailers and 7 % through a consignment basis. The prices are oftentimes dictated by the contractors (48 %), than by the farmers (40 %). Sometimes (10 %), a compromise is reached between two parties.

83 % of the vendor respondents were retailers and 17 % wholesalers. 72 % of the retailer’s vegetable supply came from wholesalers while a few (28 %) get it directly from the farmers. Wholesalers on the other hand, get their supply from the farmers. An average vegetable sale per day is about 2,500 kilos among wholesalers and 50 kilos among retailers.

Problems in marketing: In general, the major problem in selling vegetable revolves around the seasonality of vegetable supply. 30 % of the farmers sometimes experience oversupply of vegetables during harvest season. 20 % had problems in regards to the limited display area in the market and 13 % complained that middlemen dictate vegetable prices. 40 % of the wholesalers mentioned lack of supply of vegetables as primary problem. 20 % limited display area in the market and 13 % mentioned cheaper wholesale price. 23 % of the retailer consider lack of vegetable supply as a constraint, 22 % limited display areas in the market and 21 % the lack of capital.

Discussion

Most respondents consume less than one half of the daily requirement for vegetables despite high level of awareness of its nutritional value. This poor vegetable consumption pattern can be attributed to dietary habits and tastes of consumers. In Cagayan de Oro, the amount of vegetable production is oftentimes inadequate to supply the demand of consumers. Constraints associated to this are high night temperatures, pests, and lack of capital. Considering this, supplies of vegetables come from neighboring places like Bukidnon, Claveria and even as far as Luzon. Having a closer look of Cagayan de Oro, the potential to improve peri-urban vegetable production is high. The present marketing set up suffers from lack of good storage and grading facilities, limited display areas and lack of low-interest credit sources. There is a continuing high demand of vegetables in Cagayan de Oro City and other demand centers like Cebu, Iloilo and Manila.

Findings of the study point the need to further research on (1) factors affecting low vegetable intake, (2) vegetable varieties adapted to lowland areas, (3) production technologies commonly employed by peri-urban farmers, and (4) diversification of marketing outlets. More efforts are needed from the government and non-government organizations to educate consumers of vegetable diet. Delicious, easy to prepare and attractive recipes should be promoted to increase vegetable consumption and boost demand for vegetables. Special market niches (e.g. institutional users, restaurants, hospitals) can be studied as potential market outlets for peri-urban growers. Low-interest credits should be made available to both vegetable growers and vendors. Furthermore, results of this survey must be shared and discussed with local audience like the city government, agricultural and research institutions, consumers, vendors and farmers.

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	Research activities		Results of project partners			Other research results of XUCA
	XUCA activities in this workpackage		IAS results in socioeconomic surveys			XUCA results in crop improvement
			HHRC results in socioeconomic surveys			XUCA results in soil management and plant nutrition
						XUCA results integrated pest and disease management
						XUCA results in water management
						XUCA results in marketing

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	Conclusion of XUCA
	Technology Implementation Plan of XUCA
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March 19, 2002 by by Robert J. Holmer