Economic assessment of postharvest losses of cabbage and lettuce in Benguet

The study aimed to describe and assess the existing postharvest systems for cabbage and lettuce produced in Benguet. One shot survey method using structured questionnaires was done nto gather information covering three major vegetable-producing towns in Benguet. Descriptive statistics were mainly used in the study. A case study was also done to measure the transport loss from Benguet to Manila. Mean quality and quantity losses of cabbage and lettuce transported in unconditioned and refrigerated trucks were compared using the t-test. Cabbage and lettuce growers had mean average age of about 40 years, completed eight (8) years of schooling: have been growing vegetables for the past 16 years, with five (5) household members and majority were members of existing cooperatives; had other sources of income aside from farming; farmer-neighbors and parents and relatives as sources of information. Almost all of the cabbage farmers used their own capital in their production operations while majority of the lettuce farmers borrow their production capital. Most of the growers owned the farms that they cultivate; is predominantly irrigated of about 0.42-ha wide. Three levels of traders were involved in the trading business of cabbage and lettuce. The first-level traders have mean age of 41 years, predominantly female, completed almost 10 years of schooling, with mean household members of five (5) and have been in the trading business for nine (9) years. Almost all of them generated an annual gross income of more than P100,000. Most of them used their own money in their trading business. The second-level traders of cabbage were mostly male, 39 years of age, mostly male, underwent 10 years of schooling, with household members of five (5) and have been engaged in the vegetable trading business for the past 10 years. On the other hand, the third-level traders are mostly female, 40 years of age, completed 10.5 years of schooling, with five (5) household members and into the vegetable trading business for the past 14 years. Most of them used their own capital in their trading business. Traders of lettuce were mostly female, 38 years of age, attended school for almost 10 years, with mean household members of five (5). Lettuce traders have been in the trading business for the past seven (7) years and most of them are getting annual gross income of more than P100,000. Based on the farmers' estimates, the total post harvest loss in cabbage from harvesting to selling was about 6.40% of its total initial fresh marketable weight. Relative to the other post harvest operations, loss was highest in transporting operations with 2.29% followed by hauling and harvesting with 1.65% and 1.60%, respectively. The least estimated loss was during selling (0.86%). Postharvest loss was relatively higher in lettuce with a total of 48.41%. It is during the harvesting operations that the estimated loss was highest at 21.15% followed by the loss during selling at 10.65%, transporting at 9.56% and hauling at 7.05%. In both crops, post harvest loss was higher during the wet season compared to the total loss during the dry season. From the point of view of a farmer who has an average farm of 0.5 ha and with two cropping seasons in a year, the potential losses in terms of foregone income due to post harvest loss were P7,731.48/year for cabbage and P95,203.44/year for lettuce. In relation to the transport study using unconditioned and refrigerated truck, weight loss of 0.46% in cabbage and 0.56% in lettuce were significantly different from the weight loss of those transported through the refrigerated truck. Lettuce transported in unconditioned truck had significantly lower quality compared to those transported in refrigerated truck. Recommendations related to R and D were: loss assessment of the different high value vegetables; evaluation of the effects of grading, packaging and different transportation methods on the quality of vegetables; design of hauling facilities and packaging materials to provide protection of vegetables from physical injuries while maximizing transport loads, development of location-specific production and postharvest technologies, feasibility studies on the use of cold chain to extend shelf life and reduce postharvest losses, and, use of ethylene scrubbers and other indigenous materials to reduce quality deterioration during transport. Policy recommendations included; (a) standardization and/or dissemination of existing grades and standards to facilitate pricing; (b) local government units to consider the provision of credit on the establishment of protective shelters to their farmer constituents, and; 9c) allocation of more public investments on roads and bridges as well as on on-farm hauling and grading facilities.