Production and marketing of sweet potato in selected areas of Cavite / by Grace B. del Rosario.

Thesis (B.S.A.--Agricultural Economics) Cavite State University

Includes bibliographical references.

College of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Natural Resources (CAFENR)

DEL ROSARIO, GRACE BAGO. Production and Marketing of Sweet Potato in Selected Areas of Cavite. BS Thesis. Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Agricultural Economics. Cavite State University, Indang, Cavite. April 2004.Adviser: Mr. Michael G. Consignado.
A study was conducted to describe the socio-economic characteristics of sweet potato farmers, describe the production and marketing practices involved in production and marketing of sweet potato, estimate the cost and return in producing and marketing sweet potato, ascertain the relationship between level of income of the selected variable and the problems encountered by farmers in the production and marketing of sweet potato. Data were gathered through personal interviews with sweet potato farmers in selected areas of Cavite namely; Silang, Tagaytay, and Alfonso. The age of the respondents ranged from 30 to 68 years with an average of 49 years. Almost all respondents (91%) were married and all of the respondents attended formal education. The farming experience of sweet potato farmers averaged at 22 years and most was owner-operators. The average farm size devoted to sweet potato production was 0.98 hectare. Sweet potato farmers produced an average of 44 sacks of sweet potato which were paid in cash by the buyers. The production and marketing practices involved by the sweet potato farmers were weeding, fertilizer application, control of pest and diseases, harvesting and hauling and transporting.
The average return each farm from sweet potato production in selected areas of Cavite was P19, 286. This consisted of cash return amounting to P18, 894 and non- cash of P389. Silang farmers generated an average return per farm from sweet potato production amounting to P31,230. In Alfonso, the average return obtained by farmers was P21, 672. Farmers from Tagaytay City obtained the lowest average return amounting to P 13,207. The average return per sack of sweet potato production in selected areas of Cavite was P429. This consisted of cash return amounting to P421 and non-cash returns of P9. Sweet potato farmers from Silang obtained the highest average net returns amounting to P 326, followed by farmers from Alfonso who obtained P297. Sweet potato farmers from Tagaytay City generated the lowest average net returns of P285. Socio-economic variables like age, civil status, and tenure status were found to be related to the level of income of sweet potato farmers, while educational attainment, household size and farming experience were found not to be significantly related to the level of income of sweet potato farmers. Sweet potato farmers encountered problems in production and marketing of sweet potato. The problems most commonly encountered were the incidence of pest and diseases, unstable market price and unfavorable weather condition. The sweet potato farmers in Cavite should observe appropriate management and production techniques to avoid the incidence of pests and diseases such as leaf borer, sweet potato termite, sweet potato weevil and mealy bugs. Unstable market price can be resolved by planting sweet potato during off season when supply is low. The farmers can also market their products in Manila and nearby towns where prices may be higher.

Submitted to the University Library 05/04/2007 T-2924