Download 3692_Javier_VAF_Study_Mar3_08

Agroforestry and Sustainable
Vegetable Production in Southeast
Asian Watersheds: Market and Gender
Components of Philippine Study
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Ma. Elena Chiong-Javier, Ph.D.
Social Development Research Center
 De La Salle University-Manila
The larger study is
a collaborative research
spearheaded by North Carolina
A&T University funded by the USAID
through Virginia Tech’s Sustainable
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Management (SANREM) III Program
Major Research Partners
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US: North Carolina A&T University
(Project Leader)
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Vietnam: Nong Lam University
Indonesia: Bogor Agricultural University
Philippines: De La Salle University,
University of the Philippines Los Banos, UPOpen University, Don Bosco-Makati
International Centers: World Agroforestry
Centre (ICRAF), World Vegetable Center
(AVRDC)
At least 28 technical & social scientists
Overall Research Goal
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Alleviate poverty and food scarcity and
reduce environmental degradation through
economically-viable, resource-conserving
technologies and gender-friendly
socioeconomic policies that will reward
especially small women and men farmerstakeholders
Research Objectives
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T = Technology (sustainable & profitable VAF
integration)
M = Market (market value chain)
P = Policy (promotive options and frameworks)
E = Environmental & Socioeconomic Impact
(assessment)
G = Gender (improved women’s participation &
welfare)
S = Scaling Up (VAF management &
dissemination)
The DLSU-SDRC Involvement
Market value chain research to
determine marketable products,
market channels, marketing practices,
constraints and opportunities
 Gender studies, especially women’s
participation in VAF production and
marketing
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Methods used: Document/literature review,
participant observation, key informant
interview, focus group discussion, & survey
An important concept:
AGROFORESTRY….
A land use system combining
the production of trees and
food crops on sloping land.
Features of Songco (study site)
- One of 14 barangays in Lantapan, situated within
Manupali Watershed which in turn comprises a
substantial part of Mt Kitanglad Range Natural Park
(protected area); a noted vegetable basket, supplying
urban markets in CDO, Davao, Cebu, and Manila.
- Remembered as 80% forested until logging started in
1950s
- In-migration and socioeconomic development efforts
speeded up rate of forest conversion and changed
land use patterns
- High elevation (averaging 800 masl)
- Land classification: 63% timberland, 37% A&D
Site features…
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Longer rainy season (May-December) and many
ground water resources
1st class soil types suitable for agriculture
Moderate to severely-rolling slopes (70-80% quarter
slopes)
Severe erosion potential estimated at 40%
2002 population: 2,947 persons (46% women and
54% men) in 568 households
Land uses: 81.6% forestry, 17.1% agricultural, 1.3%
industrial/agro-industrial and residential
Private agricultural lands are predominantly
vegetable gardens; trees are along boundaries or
contours (fewer no. of purely AF farms compared to
monocropped vegetable gardens)
Site features….
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Slopes than can be plowed are usually planted to
vegetables (top 5: Chinese cabbage or umbok, beans,
cabbage, tomato, & potato; other popular preferences bell pepper, carrot, sayote, sweetpeas, & eggplant))
Steeper areas or “bakilid” are used for AF species
including eucalyptus, acacia mangium, musizi, & falcata
trees, assorted fruit trees and rootcrops like sweet
potatoes, taro, & cassava
Mostly unpaved and rugged roads
5 waiting sheds serve as “bagsakan” (collection point &
weighing station) found on main barangay road
Agriculture-based economy: majority of households grow
vegetables for the market
Top 5 VAF Products grown
Vegetables:
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Cabbage
Umbok (Chinese
cabbage)
Potato
Carrot
Tomato
Gender differences observed in
the ranking except for potato.
Trees:
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Eucalyptus
Gemelina
Falcata
Jackfruit
Lanzones
Slight gender differences noted
In the ranking except for
Lanzones.
Some Perceptions on
Combination of VAF Crops
The Do’s
 Tomato & umbok grow well together; tomato
& atsal (bell pepper; “poisonous” roots) cannot.
 Coffee and vegetables especially atsal,
cabbage, and umbok can be combined: atsal
leaves and fruits are greener and more
glossy, cabbage and umbok heads are
bigger.
VAF combinations…
The Don’t’s
 Gemelina should not be planted near
vegetables; Gemelina depletes the soil’s
nutrients.
 Mahogany causes eggplants to develop
poorly even if planted over one meter apart
 In general, the shade of trees stunt the
growth of vegetables so trees should be
planted a “safe” distance away.
Pre-Marketing Practices
1. Quality Assurance
(post-harvest rules-ofthumb)
- Keep the vegetables dry;
unnecessary moisture will
hasten spoilage.
- Exercise great care in
harvesting the more
delicate vegetables, e.g.,
beans.
Pre-Marketing Practices
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Store newly harvested
vegetables in shaded
areas.
Retain as much of the
outer layers of the
vegetables.
Arrange vegetables
properly when
packing/sacking them.
Wash or wipe the
vegetables clean.
Marketing Constraints
for Vegetables
Farmer-producers
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Lack of access to market
information; main sources
are biyahidors and other
farmers.
Inability to control prices
hence cannot recoup
farm investment; upper
tiers of market
intermediaries exert
control especially the
“bwayas.”
Biyahidors (buyer-andseller)
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Lack of capital.
Inability to control quality
of goods due to bad
farmer and trucking
practices.
Inability to control prices;
upper tiers of market
intermediaries exert control
especially the “bwayas.”
High operating costs:
hauling, trucking, and
market fees
Vegetable marketing constraints...
Farmers
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High cost of hauling and
trucking
Transport problem
hastens perishability of
goods
Goods are bought on
credit and difficulties
encountered in collection
of payment.
Biyahidors
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Stiff competition from
many traders/middlemen
operating in the market.
Shortage of commodities
from farmer sources.
Goods are bought on
credit and difficulties
encountered in collection
of payment.
Marketing Constraints for
Agroforestry Products
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Undeveloped market for timber and fruits
Difficulty in marketing timber due to legal
(permit) requirements
Poor timber quality affects pricing
Non-profitability of selling timber due to high
cost of cutting and hauling and low prices
offered by buyers
Gender Role Findings
1. Men are the dominant labor force in
almost all niches of the agricultural
(vegetable) production cycle; women
produce subsistence crops and cutflowers in home gardens.
Mainly Men
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Land preparation (97%)
Planting (77%)
Crop management/
watering/weeding (79%)
Fertilizer application (92%)
Pest control (95%)
Harvesting (84%)
Mainly Women
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On-farm meal
preparation
Home gardening
(Note traditional roles)
2. Timber production is also a
predominantly male task; female
participation is limited to tree care.
3. Men rather than women control the
following agricultural domains:
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Farm-level decision making, viz., purchase of
inputs (66%) & timing of harvest (58%)
Involvement in farmers’ organizations,
associations or cooperatives (69-100%)
Participation in agricultural training &
extension (54%).
4. However, women are actively
engaged in obtaining financing or
capital for farm inputs and labor
requirements.
5. Male spouses dominate in post-harvest
tasks of sorting, grading, &
transporting VAF products.
6. Vegetable marketing is dominated
more by women but timber marketing is
done by men.
Women Biyahidors
Findings on Women Marketers
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Known as “biyahidors” (one who buys-and-sells)
Handle mostly micro vegetable trading &
vending enterprises (it is the men who are in
large-scale trading)
Study subjects are mostly married, have
been in the trade for 8-40 yrs.
Failures in vegetable “gardening” (poor harvest,
unprofitable income, lack of capital, fluctuating market prices)
pushed them to try selling their own produce
before venturing to buy other farmers’ crops
for sale to the market
Findings…
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Market participation sustained by economic
profitability of vegetable marketing & informal
social-market alliances of women biyahidors.
Carry 4-5 varieties of vegetables in their
stocks (umbok is favored followed by carrots, potatoes,
cauliflower, eggplant, beans, bell pepper/atsal, chayote, broccoli, &
squash)
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Goods procured from an average of 6 regular
(suki) suppliers, mostly friends, neighbors,
and kinsmen who deliver goods to biyahidor’s
house.
Women biyahidors…
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Weekly revolving capital of P1000-6000
-covering cost of goods, hauling fee (P5/sack), trucking (P35/sack),
market stall rental or bodega fee (P5/sack)
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Gross ROI on lower-priced (less than P10/k)
vegetables is generally 100%; more
expensive goods earn lesser
Main business problems:
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Lack of capital & borrowing from usurers
Failure to recover capital due to selling on credit or at a loss
Helplessness over fluctuating market prices
Poor quality of goods due to mishandling/bad roads & poor
command over prices
Overall: difficulty of sustaining business
Women biyahidors…
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Some business practices/strategies to
safeguard investment:
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Keep standard entitlement: biyahidor can crop off “less than
25%” (may be negotiated by supplier) of the farmgate price/kilo to
account for spoilage during transporting
Stretch capital by going to supplier’s farm and purchase at farm
gate prices
Be present at harvest time to monitor quality, help sort/classify,
oversee packing/sacking, and ensure the sale does not go to
another trader
Be willing to travel long distance to procure supplies in scarcity or
in demand
Cultivate suki relationships with suppliers and buyers
Maintain low selling prices to attract buyers
Choose cash buyers over those who buy on credit
Some insights
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Marketing is an individual rather than a
collective enterprise; the marketer thrives
through ingenious ways of tying farmer and
his supplies to marketer.
The supply chains are not demand-driven but
dominated and driven by middlemen-buyers;
farmers at the upstream are neither marketsavvy nor oriented to downstream/consumer
preferences.
Some insights
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Gender considerations must be considered in
helping improve the lives of small upland
farmers and marketers; farm roles are gender
differentiated and vary by crop.
Amidst increasing commercial/market
influences, farm roles in the upland VAF
system still reflect a persistently traditional
pattern with men assuming most of the
productive tasks and women lending support
(but dominate in reproductive/home- and
child-related work).
Some insights
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Any assistance to increase farm productivity,
whether for vegetables or tree crops, will
continue to be cornered by men.
Development of tree-based market
enterprises cannot but also be male-directed
and -oriented.
However, vegetable-related market
enterprises shall most likely impact directly
and positively on women’s welfare.
Maraming Salamat….
Thank You!