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Empowering consumers in selected Public Markets in Metro Manila: A

framework for the development of AgriWatchPH

Conference Paper · November 2016

DOI: 10.1109/TENCON.2016.7848426

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 Empowering Consumers in Selected Public Markets
in Metro Manila: A Framework for the
Development of AgriWatchPH
Glenor L. Novio John Austin M. Cruz
National University National University
College of Computer Studies College of Computer Studies
noviogl@national-u.edu.ph cruzjam@national-u.edu.ph
Marphy James T. Rollan
National University
College of Computer Studies
rollanmjt@national-u.edu.ph
Abstract – Public markets are typically one of the most
visited places in the country. Markets are filled with
different products which are derived from farms or
agriculture sector. With the growing number of vendors in
public markets, overpricing, product mishandling, hoarding
etc. becomes more prevalent as competition becomes stiff.
This study focuses on assessing the needs assessment for the
development of a mobile application which empowers
consumers to actively monitor and make necessary
complaint on products that go well beyond the accepted
standards including Suggested Retail Prices (SRPs) for
agricultural products as set by the Philippines' Department
of Agriculture. Additionally, this study seeks to create a
framework that will become the basis for the development of
the AgriWatchPH mobile application. Innovations in price
monitoring will be incorporated such as the Complaint
Module using the multi-media capabilities of smartphones
and Budget Planner module to guide consumers in
prioritizing their needs in relation to agricultural products.
Initial results show that consumers would likely use a smart
application that allows them to instantly check whether
prices that they see in the market are congruent to what is
imposed by the Department of Agriculture.
Keywords—Agricultural Products; Public Markets; Price
Monitoring; Budget Planner; Mobile Application Framework;
I. INTRODUCTION
Public markets are typically one of the most visited
places in the country. Markets are filled with different
vendors offering a variety of products that are used by the
consumers in their day to day living. Agricultural products
are those primary goods which are most often sought and
sold by consumers in any public market. These include
meat, poultry, fish, rice, eggs and other products which are
derived from agriculture or farm. The market, as it is filled
with different vendors might impose different problems.
One of this is that vendors tend to overprice some products
sold to consumers. This problem is not new as it occurs in
978-1-5090-2597-8/16/$31.00 2016
c IEEE
John Carl Neil S. Deinla
National University
College of Computer Studies
deinlajcns@national-u.edu.ph
Bernie S. Fabito
National University
College of Computer Studies
bsfabito@national-u.edu.ph
most public markets especially when the demand and
supply is not stable.
In a broader scope, the agricultural sector, throughout
much of our history, has been subjected to some of the
most heavy-handed governmental interventions. The
economic importance of those interventions to the wider
community escalates periodically as food prices in 2008
have spike upward[1]. Unfortunately despite existing
regulations that are implemented, cases of over-pricing,
mishandling of products and cartel still do exist. These
unreasonable changes is a multifaceted problem imputed
by varying factors, which when summed up, results to
catastrophic consequences for the most vulnerable[2]. For
countries which greatly depends on agriculture,
profitability is considered as of high importance. In
situations where prices are low, the profitability usually
decreases and subsequently the income.[3] With most of
the vendors being dependent solely on the market as their
prime source of income to support their family,
irregularities in products are likely to occur.
To address these problems, the government has
empowered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to create
measures to alleviate the problems identified. The DA
appointed checkers in public markets specifically in metro
manila to oversee the prices of agricultural products from
7:00 AM to 9:00 AM. The role of the checkers is to
determine the min and max price of agricultural products
for the day. Prices of agricultural products are mostly
determined by the law of Supply and Demand. The
accumulated average min and max prices are fed to the
website of the Department of Agriculture on the same day
for the consumption of the consumers. Consumers will
likely be guided in prioritizing their household needs based
on the prices plotted. The min and max are essential as it
establish relationship between past prices in the same
market. Through the present and previous data, the
Department can determine whether there is a fluctuation
2236
of prices in the market or there is a big difference with the
prices from one market to another. Through this, The
department of Agriculture can make proper actions if an
anomaly is found. Since prices are taken only from 7:00 to
9:00 AM, chances are, vendors may adjust their prices
after 9 am to gain more profit regardless of the prices
posted on the website. Though the website contains the
prevailing price of agricultural products in selected Public
Markets, viewing the all the different prices in the markets
in a single page tend to be irksome while being un-
adaptive in a mobile setting. In a survey conducted by
digital TNS in Metro Manila, 64 percent of their
respondents consider their mobile device as their most
important technological tool as opposed to Desktop and
Laptop Computers [4]. The smartphone combines
telephone capabilities with personal computer services in a
single gadget. It offers standard telephony through a
cellular network including Internet services, which most
devices can manage either through WiFi connections or
through mobile data services provided through the cellular
data networks [5].
Consumers become oblivious of the right prices as the
website do not work well in a mobile setting. Another
concern identified is the method on how a complaint is
made. The process of making a complaint is cumbersome
or tedious. In some situations, the complainant/consumer
has to directly proceed to the Department to submit the
complaint. A contributing factor why consumers no longer
proceed with the complaint.
The study focuses on 1.) evaluating the needs
assessment for the development of a mobile application to
empower consumers of public markets in Metro Manila in
determining current prices of Agricultural Products and
allowing them to make necessary complaints if over-
pricing, mishandling of products, hoarding is suspected
from a market vendor/store and 2.) Create a Framework
that will serve as the basis for the development of the
AgriWatchPH.
When completed, the mobile application will help both
the consumers and the Department of Agriculture
eliminate anomalies in public markets with respect to
overpricing, mishandling, hoarding etc. of products. This
can be achieved by actively engaging the community to
report anomalies seen in the market through their
smartphones with the aid of its multimedia capabilities. To
further maximize the use of the application, a budget
monitoring app will be included in the framework which
allows consumers to immediately budget their needs in
terms of agricultural products. One example of this is
budgeting ingredients of a meal for the entire day.
To support the study, questionnaires were distributed
among twelve (12) public markets in Metro Manila
covering 50% of the entire public markets covered by the
Department of Agriculture for Metro Manila. A total of
120 respondents answered the survey assessing the need of
the application to be developed and implemented. The
questionnaires include the needs assessment and
acceptability of the study.
2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) — Proceedings of the International Conference
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The trend in the usage of smartphones in the
Philippines has dramatically increased for the past few
years. This is due to the increasing affordability of
smartphones in the country brought about by the entrance
of local manufacturers that can compete with gigantic
international mobile companies in terms of capabilities [6].
In a study conducted in the US, 85percent of smartphone
users use their time in using different applications that are
non-native to the mobile device. In their findings,
communication and social apps account for the most usage
totaling 21 percent of their time spent in using a smart
phone. [7]. In the Philippines, it has been observed that
most acts committed that are unlawful are now being
exposed through social networking site like Facebook.
With the use of their mobile phones, citizens are able to
capture images and videos of incidents that are illegal in
nature. These posts are spread like wildfire reaching
thousands of likes and hundreds of shares causing the
media and proper authorities to act on it. It has become a
trend where issues are now posted on Facebook and are no
longer reported to proper authorities. The post will
eventually find its way to the right government agency. An
example of this was when a video was recently uploaded in
Facebook where a man was seen harassing a student inside
a public transportation vehicle [8]. This video went viral
and has even reached the attention of one of the
Philippines’ most sought-after Lawyer to serve as the
student’s attorney – pro bono if she makes the necessary
complaint.
Unfortunately, it is not always the case. Not all posts of
unlawful activities reach proper authorities. If a post is not
sensationalized or has not received much attention, proper
action may not be provided. Nevertheless, if the
application used is directly connected to proper authorities,
an action could be immediately and properly delivered.
Therefore, providing the right mobile application for
complaints, issues and concerns directly connected to the
agency concerned would greatly allow more reports to be
catered and given proper action. The same is true for
complaints related to agricultural products in the market.
The Republic Act No. 7581 or also known as the “Price
Act” was established to guarantee the availability of basic
necessities and prime commodities at reasonable prices at
all times without denying legitimate business a fair return
on investment. Several implementing agencies were given
authorities to review and make reasonable suggested retail
prices of basic necessities and prime commodities. One of
these implementing agencies is The Department of
Agriculture with reference to agricultural crops, fresh
meat, fish and other marine products, fresh poultry and
dairy products, fertilizers, and other farm inputs[9].
Another Republic Act (RA 10623) was created to amend
certain provisions of Republic Act No. 7581, entitled “An
Act Providing Protection to The Consumers By Stabilizing
The Prices Of Basic Necessities And Prime Commodities
And By Prescribing Measures Against Undue Price
Increases During The Emergency Situations And Like
Occasions” and for other purposes amendment of the
Republic Act No. 7581. This order has expanded the
2237
 coverage of the term basic necessities. It now includes 2.) Level of frequency of using a Smart phone; 3.) Level of
potable water in bottles and also containers, locally frequency of going to public markets; 4.) Level of concern
manufactured instant noodles, fresh fruits, household of Agricultural Products sold in Public Markets. Concerns
liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene; and the term prime include a.) Vendors have different prices of the same
commodities to now include livestock and fishery feeds, agricultural products sold in the market; b.) Prices are not
while excluding fresh fruit, noodles, swine and cattle feeds the same with those stated in price monitoring of the
from its list. Under the department of agriculture, the basic Department of Agriculture as reflected in their Website;
necessities under the DA are: corn; rice; root crops; fresh, and c.)Products are not properly handled. 5.) Level of
dried fish and other marine products; fresh pork, beef and user’s acceptability to handle market related issues and
poultry meat; fresh milk; fresh eggs; fresh vegetables; concerns. Acceptability includes: a.) Price monitoring
fresh fruits; sugar; and cooking oil[10]. These Republic application that could view the current price of the market;
Acts identified those commodities that are under the b.) Budget planner application that plans your market
supervision of the Department of Agriculture. Their expenses; and c.) Market concerns reporting application
mandate is to make sure that prices are reasonable and are that forwards complaints to the Department of Agriculture
followed by the different markets in Metro Manila and in
the entire country in general. B. System Developlment Life Cycle
In Metro Manila, The Department of Agriculture has The study will follow specific phases of Agile
its own Department named Department of Agriculture - Development during its development. The system will be
Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) planned very carefully by the researchers assuring that the
which is responsible for monitoring the daily prices of requirements are taken into full consideration. The study
agricultural products in Metro Manila. The Department will be documented carefully focusing on its design,
provides the prices of agricultural products across the development, testing and operation. Each detail will be
different markets in Metro Manila over their website. treated crucial.
These markets are the Commonwealth Market Quezon
City, Susano Market Novalichez Quezon City, Mega Q
Mart Quezon City, Farmers Market Quezon City,
TandangSora Market Quezon City, Marikina Market Zone,
Marikina Public Market, Muñoz Market Quezon City,
Pasig City Mega Market, Viajero Market Pasig City,
Guadalupe Market Makati, Agora Public Market San Juan,
Mandaluyong Public Market, Trabajo Market Manila,
Central Market Manila, New Dagonoy Market Manila,
PacoMarket Manila, Pasay Public Market, Muntinlupa
Public Market, Polo Market Valenzuela, Navotas Market,
and Malabon Market[11]. As previously mentioned, the
checkers are directly responsible for obtaining the prices
prevailing in the market which are then fed to the website.
However, there are no means to monitor whether the prices
posted are actually followed by the vendors.

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Fig. 1. Agile Development Method Life Cycle

This study proposes the development of an Android
Application that empowers consumers to act on different
anomalies proliferating in public markets specifically in
agricultural products sold. The basis of the development
came from the reviews of related literatures and from the
result of the questionnaires provided to the consumers in
the different markets covered by the AMAS. The actual
surveys were conducted on 12 public markets handled by
AMAS. As mentioned, a total of 120 respondents
answered the survey. Likert’s scale from 1 to 5 were used
to get the response of the respondents.
The actual development of the proposed application
will follow the rudiments of Agile Development Life
Cycle.
Figure 1.0 depicts that different stages of the
development life cycle. Using the model of Agile
Development, there will be iteration and continuous
gathering of data, planning of all information and
developing of the system. Also, communication between
the researchers and the beneficiary will not be broken. The
Agile development process have been widely adopted in
the Industry for several years which proved beneficial in
terms of time efficiency [12][13].

A. Questionnaires
The questionnaires that were distributed include the
consumers’ 1.) Level of knowledge of using Smart Phones;

2238 2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) — Proceedings of the International Conference
 IV. SYSTEM PARADIGM
Fig. 2. The System Paradigm
The system paradigm as seen on Figure 2 illustrates the
processes involved in the proposed system. It shows the
interactions of the different actors and processes. The
consumers get data from the database which are updated
by the Consolidator of the AMAS (encoder) who receive
the prices sent by the checkers. The prices from the market
are captured through the checkers by getting min and max
prices of agricultural products from the market. The
Section Chief of the department is responsible for
generating necessary reports that are used for decision
making processes. These reports include fluctuation of
prices from all the different public markets in Metro
Manila. A spike in fluctuation might mean an anomaly. If
prices in Market A varies from the rest of the remaining
Markets, the department could take a look from the
suppliers of Market A and identify why there is a big
difference.
The check price module allows consumers to identify
the prevailing prices of agricultural products in a given
market. The module contains a budget tracker that
computes the different prices of the products that the
consumer wishes to buy. This removes overspending on
the part of the consumer as it only allows him/her to
choose products within the prescribed budget.
The complaint module on the other hand is managed by
the Central Bantay Presyo Team (Central Price Watch
Team). They are responsible for collecting the different
complaints sent by the consumers. The team validates and
makes necessary action when a complaint is received.
2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) — Proceedings of the International Conference
V. USE CASE MODEL
Fig. 3. Use Case Model
The Use Case model depicts the different interactions
of the users to the system. The users include Consumers,
Checker, Consolidator, Central Bantay Presyo Team
(CBPT) and the Section Chief. The consumer checks the
agricultural products in selected public markets in Metro
Manila stored in the phone of the user. This this data might
not be updated as it requires daily update of the prices from
the Internet. Prices are updated once the user is connected
to the internet. If the user finds any discrepancy with the
prices indicated in the pricelist with the actual prices in the
specified Market, the user can make a complaint by means
of the application. The user makes complaint by using the
complaint option in the mobile application. An optional
multimedia <<include>>can be included in the report that
would serve as an evidence (or a picture/mark of the stall)
of the report. This report would be forwarded to the
Central Bantay Presyo Team handled by AMAS. As an
additional feature, the user can make use of the budget plan
module which can give users the ability to make prior
budgeting before buying any agricultural products in the
market. The prices of the products will come from the
database <<include>.
VI. PROJECT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
The proposed project aims to help the market
consumers to monitor the prices of products on selected
major public market within Metro Manila. The mobile
application will provide the consumer different tools that
will help them when going to the market. Budget planner
will help the user plan their budget. The application also
supports GPS so that the user can navigate their way to the
nearest public market throughout Metro Manila.
2239
 On the other hand, for the consumption of the
Department of the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance
Service, a graph based on prices and date will be generated
as a tool for decision making process.
The proposed system consists of the following
modules:
A. Login Module
Allows the users of the phone and web
application to access the system.
B. Report Module
This module allows the consumers to send
complaints such as overpricing of certain agricultural
products in the market. This report will be forwarded to the
web application so that it can be reviewed and proper
procedures for sanctions can take place (Figure 4.0).
rate of the product prices. Any discrepancy from the graph
will usually trigger the department to make an
investigation to check the reason behind the discrepancy.
F. Price Checker Module
This module is for the consumption of the
Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service Checkers.
The checkers are assigned to check the prices of the target
markets from 7:00 to 9:00 AM. These prices are forwarded
to the web application so that prices for the day will be
created and updated to the Mobile App.
G. Accounts Management Module
This module allows the Section Chief to create
new accounts that maintains the entire system. This
include the checkers and consolidators.
H. Price Adjustment Module
Upon receiving the data from the Agribusiness
and Marketing Assistance Service checkers, the
consolidator will verify and update the prices to the
database.

I. Market Management
This module is used to create new markets that
need to be monitored.

VII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Based on the results of the questionnaires given to the
respondents, the following preliminary data were obtained:
80% of the respondents have smartphones and 100% of
them have accessed to data or Internet. Out of all the users,
81% of them have accessed to Internet directly inside their
households. The rest gets their Internet through their
respective workplace and public places.
Fig. 4. Report Module Fig. 5. Check Price Module The table below describes the result of the second part
of the survey.
C. Check Price Module
This module shows the different prices of the TABLE I. SUMMARY OF RESULT OF ASSESSMENT
products that are under the Department of Agriculture of Criteria Mean Interpretation
all major public markets in Manila. Prices are updated as Response
checkers and consolidator collect and update the prices to Level of Knowledge of using 3.8 Very
the system (Figure 5). Smartphones. Knowledgeable
Level of Frequency of using 4.4 Everytime
D. Budget Planner Module Smartphones.
Level of Frequency of going to 5.6 Almost Every
The budget planner module is a tool that helps the Public Markets. Time
consumer manage their daily budget. This tool can be Level of Awareness of Price 6.0 Not Aware At All
updated any time by the user. It allows the user to enter an Monitoring imposed by the
agricultural product/s into the application and will Department of Agriculture.
immediately provide prices from the different target Level of Concern of Argicultural 5.7 Extremely
Products sold in Public Markets. Concerned
markets nearest the location of the user. This would give User’s Acceptability of Using 5.0 Acceptable
the user an insight of how much he/she will spend for Smartphones to handle market
buying the products. realted issues and concerns.

E. Graph Analysis Module

The result of the survey revealed that consumers are
This module can be accessed through the web Very Knowledgeable with the use of Smartphones. It can
application, it generates a graph that shows the fluctuation be added that Consumers go to public markets almost

2240 2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) — Proceedings of the International Conference
 every time while carrying their smartphones despite
instances of phone snatching in most public markets.
However, the consumers are not at all aware of the existing
website used by the Department of Agriculture to show the
consumers the prevailing prices in the market. When asked
why, majority of the consumers mentioned that they are
not simply aware of its existence and they find it
cumbersome to check it in their website which can be
viewed best when using a desktop computer.
With regards to the different issues in the market, the
consumers gave a mean of 5.7 which has a descriptive
value of Extremely Concerned. They are concerned
whether the prices are accurately correct and that the
products are in good condition.
The User’s acceptability to use Smartphones to handle
market related issues and concerns obtained a mean of 5.0
with a descriptive value of Acceptable. The following are
the features that were rated: a.) Price monitoring
application that could view the current price of the market;
b.) Budget planner application that plans your market
expenses; and c.) Market concerns reporting application
that forwards complaints to the Department of Agriculture
VIII. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKS
The literatures have provided us that smartphone
applications have been used to support our activities. It is
without doubt that it has become an essential tool in
accomplishing our daily tasks especially in finding
appropriate data or information from the internet which
helps users make better decisions.
The study has also provided the gap with the use of the
existing website of the Department of Agriculture to
disseminate the prevailing prices of a given market to the
consumers. The study has revealed that there is a problem
with the existing method used to inform the public of the
existing prices including the deficiency in terms of making
a complaint to the Department.
The survey distributed further revealed the acceptance
of the consumers to the use of a smartphone application to
handle the gap between the services of the Department of
Agriculture and the Consumers. Their responses indicate
the need for the development of the mobile application.
For future works, it is recommended that the system be
developed following the framework that was described in
this study. Unit Testing, Integration Testing, ISO 9126
Software Evaluation Tool should be followed to assess
whether the objective of the study and system have been
reached.
[3] S. Backman, et al. Identifying the driving forces behind price
fluctuations and potential food crisis. University of Hilsinki. 2009.
Retrieved from: www.helsinki.fi/taloustiede/Abs/DP35.pdf
[4] P. Magdirila. (2013) Philippine Smartphone Adoption is Growing,
But Users Still Stick to Basic Features. TechhAsia. Retreived from:
https://www.techinasia.com/philippine-smartphone-adoption-
growing-users-stick-basic-features
[5] P. A. Soukup. Smartphones. Communication Research Trends
34(4), pp. 3-39. 2015.
[6] B. Fabito, F. Balahadia, J.D Cabatlao. AppLert: A Mobile
Application for Incident and Disaster Notification for Metro
Manila. IEEE Region 10 Symposium (TENSYMP2016). IEEE. pp.
1-5. 2016.
[7] S. Perez Consumers Spend 85% Of Time On Smartphones In
Apps, But Only 5 Apps See Heavy Use, TechCrunch, 2015,
Available: http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/22/consumers-spend-85-
of-time-on-smartphones-in-apps-but-only-5-apps-see-heavy-use/
[8] Imperio, Christian. Videos of man harassing student go viral, The
Philippine Star. May 05, 2016, Available:
http://www.philstar.com/metro/2016/05/05/1579974/videos-man-
harassing-student-go-viral
[9] Republic Act No. 10623. Official Gazette, July, 2012, Available:
http://www.gov.ph/2013/09/06/republic-act-no-10623/
[10] Republic Act No. 7581. DILG, May 1992, Available:
http://www.dilg.gov.ph/PDF_File/issuances/republic_acts/RA_758
1.PDF
[11] AMAS Price Watch. Department of Agriculture, n.d., Avaialbe:
http://www.da.gov.ph/index.php/amas-price-watch
[12] Y. Zhang and S. Patel. Agile model-driven development in
practice. IEEE Software 28(2), pp. 84-91. 2011
[13] J. F. Tripp. The impacts of agile development methodology use on
project success: A contingency view. ProQuest Dissertations and
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2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) — Proceedings of the International Conference 2241

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