Marketing system of agroforestry products in selected site in Apayao [Philippines]

This study determined the marketing systems for agroforestry products in Apayao. A total of 100 farmer-respondents from Barangays [villages] Tanglagan, Calanasan, Karikitan, Conner, Atok, Flora and Marag, Luna was selected in stratified random sampling. A structured interview schedule was used to elicit data. Simple descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, ranking, and means were used in the interpretation of data. Most of the respondents were male, belonged to the working age group (21-50), and with high literacy rate because all of them were able to enter schooling and most were high school graduates. Thirty-six percent of the respondents had an annual income ranging from P16,000.00 to P36,000.00. Most had farm sizes ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 hectares. About 18 respondents from Tanglagan and 12 from Marag practiced the improved fallow system of farming, 12 from Karikitan, intercropping and 10 from Atok, plot method. Upland rice was the main crop fo the majority of the respondents from Tanglagan and Marag, fruit crops in Karikitan and banana in Atok. Gmelina was the tree grown by the majority of respondents in all study sites, while citrus, lanzones, rambutan, cacao, coffee, coconut and banana were the leading fruits grown. Majority (14) of the respondents in Tanglagan claimed rice as their promising product, fruit crops for 23 in Karikitan, banana for 22 in Atok, and rice and corn for 24 in Marag. In terms of marketing, fruit products in all the study sites were generally sold to middlemen going to the sites, who usually paid in cash. Production and marketing problems/constraints encountered were: occurrence of uncontrolled pests and diseases attacking their crops, resulting in low production output, high wastage due to the perishable nature of agroforestry products, lack of trading facilities, and low market value. Respondents also complained of the high production inputs, including the wages of workers. It is highly recommended that sustainable production of existing agroforestry products with market potentials be undertaken and produce new products to sell through existing markets. Likewise, support services should be provided including the training and education of farmers on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), market facilities such as grading post, improved farm-to-market roads, etc., institutional services for farmers, such as cooperatives and credit system, efficient and effective market info system, etc. to strengthen their trading power as well as shorten the market channels, and appropriate price policies.