Preliminary scoping of the aster industry in Los Baos, Laguna, Philippines

Aster is a cut flower belonging to the Asteraceae or Compositae family that is commonly used as a filler in flower arrangements in different religious and cultural events in the Philippines (Fernandez, 2006; Naranja and Balladares, 2008). Aster is one of the primary agricultural commodities of the province of Laguna [Philippines], specifically in the municipality of Los Baos, as noted by the Philippines Statistics Authority (2023) whereby an average of 563.81 metric tons (mt) from 2010 - 2022 was produced. This accounts for 67% of the total national volume of production (841.42 mt). Almost 20 years have passed since the aster farmers in Los Baos, Laguna shifted their flower induction practices from traditional lighting to the application of gibberellic acid (GA sub 3) as studied on the field by Naranja and Balladares (2008). Hence, it is high time to revisit and understand the current state of the aster industry in Los Baos, Laguna. This study seeks to generate insights into the current status of the Los Baos aster industry by determining existing problems and issues using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools such as key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD). The KII with the focal persons of the Los Baos Municipal Agriculture Office and FGD with farmers from three aster-growing barangays (Bayog, Maahas, and Mayondon) in Los Baos, Laguna, revealed that the Los Baos aster industry faces several issues and problems including (1) increasing prices of agricultural inputs and labor costs; (2) infestation of insect pests affecting yield and quality of harvest; (3) decreasing aster production areas due to land conversion and issues on tenure; (4) absence of permanent market and formalized association or cooperative; and (5) volatile farmgate price and monopolization of middlemen. These insights provide directions for future research to examine the issues and problems, including the underlying causes, faced by the Los Baos aster industry towards developing effective strategies to improve livelihoods and the welfare of the farmers while contributing to the larger Philippine ornamental industry.