Bibliography

WACLIN, ELIZABETH B. APRIL 2007. Household Consumption of Organic

Vegetables in La Trinidad, Benguet. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.

Adviser: Luke E. Cuangey, BS.

Keyword: Household Consumption of Organic Vegetables

Abstract

WACLIN, ELIZABETH B. APRIL 2007. Household Consumption of Organic

Vegetables in La Trinidad, Benguet. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.

Adviser: Luke E. Cuangey, BS.

The study mainly describe the nature of household consumption of organic vegetables in

La Trinidad. Especially it aims to find out the organic vegetables that consumers buy, reason

why consumers consume organic vegetables, attributes of consumers in purchasing organic

vegetables, volume of organic vegetables purchased per time by the consumers, problems
encountered by consumers in purchasing organic vegetables, suggestions/recommendations of

consumer for the effective marketing strategy of organic vegetables.

There are one hundred (100) respondents of the study. All of the respondents are organic

vegetable consumers from La Trinidad, Benguet.

The data shows that most of the respondents said that the price is not important in

purchasing organic vegetables because they much care about their health but then they said that

organic producers should lessen the price so that they could purchase more of the products.

The results also shows that respondents encountered problem in purchasing organic

vegetables, by then, they give suggestions for the effectiveness of marketing organic vegetables

and of them are: organic producers should have more market outlet and more products or supply.

They should do some seminars or advertisements to let the people know their place in the market

and be nice and packaging. Preservation was also suggested by the respondents and organic

practitioners should have certification telling that the organic vegetables they are selling are

really an organic one.

Therefore, it is recommended that, the organic producers should have more market outlet

and more supply of the product. Organic vegetables market should have a

certificatory/assurance that the vegetables they are selling is really an organic one. Organic

vegetable producer should lessen the price so that the volume of purchase will be increased and

organic vegetable producers should find a way to preserve the freshness of the product until it

will be disposed.
Conclusions

Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were made:

a. Price is not that important to the consumer in purchasing organic vegetables, but then

organic vegetable producers should lessen the price for the consumer to purchase more of

the product.

b. Most quality attributes considered by the consumer in purchasing organic vegetables are

pesticide free, appearance, shelf life, origin and firmness and the least important are shape,

size, variety, color and price.

c. Suggestion from the respondents/consumer includes the good packaging for the

product. Organic practitioners should have more outlets for market and more supply

of the product.

Recommendations

1. Organic producers should have more outlet market and supply of the product.

2. Organic vegetables market should have a certificatory/assurance that the vegetable they are

selling is really an organic one.

3. Organic vegetable producer should lessen the price so that the volume of purchase was

increased.

4. Organic vegetable producer should find ways to preserve the freshness of the product

until it was disposed.

Body

HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION ON ORGANIC VEGETABLES

IN LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET

ELIZABETH B. WACLIN

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE,

BENGUET STATE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE

(AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS)

APRIL 2007
CA-UR FORM 10 File No. AGECON 2007-5813-520

Benguet State University

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

La Trinidad, Benguet

This thesis, titled “HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION ON ORGANIC VEGETABLES IN

LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET”, prepared and submitted by ELIZABETH B. WACLIN for the

degree BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE (Agricultural Economics) is hereby

accepted.

LUKE E. CUANGUEY JOVITA M. SIM

Member, Advisory Committee Adviser and Chairperson

Date Signed: ________________ Advisory Committee

Date Signed: ________________

EVANGELINE B. CUNGIHAN

Member , Advisory Committee

and Department Chairperson

Date Signed: ________________

MACARIO D. CADATAL

Dean

Date Signed: ________________

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

“Nothing is hard if the heart has love; nothing is impossible when the heart understands;

and nothing is heavy when God is in our hearts.”

First and foremost, the author would like to thank our Almighty God for showering his

love, blessing, giving strength and guidance in finishing the book.

To Prof. Luke Cuangey, her adviser, for his time in checking the manuscript.

To Prof. Jovita M. Sim, her co-adviser for helping her formulate the title, problem and

prepare the outline for the study, for her encouragement and knowledge she imparted to the

author and her patient in correcting the manuscript.

To Prof. Evangeline Cungihan, Department Chairman and to all the faulty members of

DAEAM for their moral support and encouragement especially to Ma’am Klondy Dagupen for

giving material references for this study.

The author would like also to thank Ma’am Maureen for sparing her time in encoding ,

editing and binding the manuscript.

To her special someone, Mr. Gerald Caligtan for his help in distributing and collecting

the questionnaires, for his encouragement and inspiration. Also to her cousin Beverly for her

understanding during the process of this study.

Grateful thanks are hereby extended to the LaTOPMPC members, to Miss Marilyn and to

the different household respondents for sharing their time during the interview and for their
support, cooperation and kindness in answering the questionnaires which made the study

possible.

To her co-majors and friends Teresa, Sally, Santa, Noveba, Eroll. Delfin, Elexir and

Leonard for the laughter and happiness that they shared. Also to Ate Dora, Ate Jerissa,

Josephine, Edelyn, Marie and Jimleen for their encouragement.

To her eldest sister Maribel and brother-in-law Marlon Espada for their sacrifices,

financial and moral support. Also to her nephews Eros and Kenken for they are the angel to the

author.

Special thanks to her beloved parents Mr. Kennedy Waclin and Mrs. Marissa Waclin for

their fullest love, sacrifices, understanding, encouragement and for all the support that they gave

to the author. Without them, the author has nothing. Sisters Cindy, Kenneth, Marie, and Erica;

brothers, Kennedy Jr. and Kervin and to all her relatives for their inspirations and prayers. To

them, this book is whole heartedly dedicated.

GOD BLESS AND THANK YOU!!!

ELIZABETH B. WACLIN
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Approval Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

List of Figure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Objectives of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

 Importance of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Scope and Limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Existence of Organic Farming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Growing Demand for Organic Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Principles of Organic Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Why Organic Cost more than

Commercial Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Organic Vegetables and its Nutrient Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Organic Farming Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Organic Production and its Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Page

METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Locale and Time of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

 Repondents of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Data Gathered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Profile of the Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Common Organic Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Organic Vegetable Eaters in the Household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Place of Purchasing Organic Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Average Volume Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Frequency of Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Importance of Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Comments on Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
 Reasons in Purchasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Most Important Quality Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Least Important Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Problems Encountered in Purchasing

Organic Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Suggestions/Recommendations from Consumer

for the Effective Marketing of Organic Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Page

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
 Appendix A. Quality attributes of consumers in purchasing

organic vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Appendix B. Letter to the Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Appendix C. Survey Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page

1 Profile of the respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2 Common organic vegetables purchased 16

by the respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Vegetable eaters in the household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4 Place of purchasing organic vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5 Frequency of purchasing organic vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

6 Average volume purchase per time

 by the respondents (kg) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

7 Importance of price to the respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

8 Comments on price of organic vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

9 Reasons in purchasing organic vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

10a Top 3 most important attributes considered

by respondents for each kind of vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

10b Least important attributes considered

by respondents for each kind of vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure No. Page

1 Map of La Trinidad showing the location of the area studied 11

 ABSTRACT

WACLIN, ELIZABETH B. APRIL 2007. Household Consumption of Organic

Vegetables in La Trinidad, Benguet. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.

Adviser: Luke E. Cuangey, BS.

The study mainly describe the nature of household consumption of organic vegetables in

La Trinidad. Especially it aims to find out the organic vegetables that consumers buy, reason

why consumers consume organic vegetables, attributes of consumers in purchasing organic

vegetables, volume of organic vegetables purchased per time by the consumers, problems

encountered by consumers in purchasing organic vegetables, suggestions/recommendations of

consumer for the effective marketing strategy of organic vegetables.

There are one hundred (100) respondents of the study. All of the respondents are organic

vegetable consumers from La Trinidad, Benguet.

The data shows that most of the respondents said that the price is not important in

purchasing organic vegetables because they much care about their health but then they said that

organic producers should lessen the price so that they could purchase more of the products.

The results also shows that respondents encountered problem in purchasing organic

vegetables, by then, they give suggestions for the effectiveness of marketing organic vegetables
and of them are: organic producers should have more market outlet and more products or supply.

They should do some seminars or advertisements to let the people know their place in the market

and be nice and packaging. Preservation was also suggested by the respondents and organic

practitioners should have certification telling that the organic vegetables they are selling are

really an organic one.

Therefore, it is recommended that, the organic producers should have more market outlet

and more supply of the product. Organic vegetables market should have a

certificatory/assurance that the vegetables they are selling is really an organic one. Organic

vegetable producer should lessen the price so that the volume of purchase will be increased and

organic vegetable producers should find a way to preserve the freshness of the product until it

will be disposed.

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Organic agriculture started in ancient time and it was practice by our ancestors. But as a result

of experimentation in science, life has change. Production of both plants, livestock and poultry is

enhanced because of technology that has changed production system. The lifestyle of people had also

changed. Scientists experiment on the use of chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. The use of these new

technologies had increased production and control utilization of pest and diseases. These chemicals are
now used by most farmers to raise their plants. The use of this fertilizers and pesticides had caused

many negative effects to the environment, to the growers and consumers, residues in food potentive

and disrupting of non target organism.

At present some farmers are already aware of these negative effects of using synthetic fertilizers

and pesticides that they are considering the health of their consumer and themselves.

According to Adonis (2005) an organic farming in the Philippines started to gain acceptance of

the late 1980’s by a few farmers who were satisfied with their conventional chemical-based farming.

There are now more than a thousand farmers in the country who are producing pesticides and chemical

free rice, vegetables, fruits and other food crops through organic methods.

One of the provinces in the Philippines where organic farming gained acceptance in Benguet

particularly in La Trinidad. There are already existing organic farms and increasing demand for

organically grown vegetables. According to the owner of Master’s Garden in La Trinidad Benguet, the

demand for organically grown vegetables is much higher than the existing volume of production.

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to answer the questions:

What are the kinds of organic vegetables that consumer buy?

What are the reasons of consumer for consuming organic vegetables?

What are the attributes of consumers in purchasing organic vegetables

What is the volume of organic vegetables purchased per time by consumers?

What are the problems encountered by consumers in consuming or buying organic vegetables?

What are the suggestions/recommendations of consumers for the effective marketing strategy of

organic vegetables?

Objectives of the Study

The study aimed to:

a. Find out the organic vegetables consumed by the consumers.

b. Find out reasons why consumer consumes organic vegetables.

c. Determine the attributes of consumers in purchasing organic vegetables

d. Determine the volume of organic vegetables purchase per time by consumers.

e. Determine problems encountered by consumers in purchasing organic vegetables.

f. Determine suggestions/recommendations of consumers for the effective marketing strategy or

organic vegetables.

Importance of the Study

The study aims to determine the household consumption and purchase pattern of organic

vegetables. To know the attributes of consumers about organic vegetables and their suggestion for

effective marketing of the product.

 Result of this study will serves as a basis in estimating the numbers of organic consumers and

the market demand which is important in the promotion for organic production, program planning and

policy formation of the government agencies and NGO’s supporting and promoting organic production.

Results will also be a guide or basis for further research endeavor in organic agriculture.

Scope and Limitation

The scope of the study was limited to the organic consumers in La Trinidad, Benguet. This study

was conducted from January to February, 2007.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Existence of Organic Farming

Hall (2002) organic farming has been in existence since man began utilizing agricultural

practices. Over the years organic methods gave to “conventional” methods, characterized by the use of

synthetic chemical inputs. Today however there are renewed interest in organic farming and it is being

termed by many as “alternative” method of farming. This renewed interest is a direct result of high

energy prices, increased fertilizer cost and concerns about health.

Growing Demand for Organic Food

 Barrozo (2006) consumers want assurances. Today’s consumers and retailers want to know that

the food they purchase is safe no matter where it was grown, raised and processed. They will want to

be ensured that your product has undergone methodical surveillance. Food safety and value is the

greatest challenge in today’s global food industry. Food poisoning, adulteration and mislabeling

incidents not only affect the reputation of the company that have produced the product but also the

countries in which those products were produced.

In his documentary presented in the First Cordillera Organic Agricultural Congress, Barrozo said

that there is an expanding demand for safe and quality food. Modem lifestyle has created ailments that

are increasing in an epidemic rate which are mostly attributed to toxin overload and stress. There is

growing scientific evidence linking modem disease with food quality and lifestyle. Organic system

recognize that our health is directly connected to the health of the food we eat. Going organic is not

just organic food - it is a way of life.

Barrozo (2006) said also that more people are choosing organic because they think that organic

food taste extremely good. Organic system aims to avoid the use of organic chemicals, pesticides and

fertilizers. Organic food is produced without the routine use of antibiotics and without genetically

modified organisms which are prohibited in the PNS for organic food and farming. Organic systems

reduce dependence on non-renewable resources and rely on modem and scientific understanding of

ecology and soil science, while also depending on traditional methods of crop rotations to ensure

fertility and weed and pest control.

Principles of Organic Production

 Layese (2006) in his paper presentation during the first Cordillera Organic Congress, he stated

the status of organic agriculture in the Philippines. He explained the principles of organic agriculture;

that in the principle of health-should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant animal and human as

one and indivisible; the principle of ecology-organic agriculture should be based on living ecological

systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and sustain them; the principle of fairness-organic

agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment

and life opportunities; the principle of care-organic agriculture should be managed in a precautionary

and responsible manner to protect the health and well being of current and future generations and the

environment.

Layese (2006) states also that the reason why go organic agriculture is that, first and foremost

because of health, these is an increasing cost of chemical based inputs, increasing resistance of pest and

diseases, decreasing farm income, declining soil fertility and ground water contamination. He also

states some facts on organic marketing worldwide that there is a 56 % of US citizens believe organic

foods are healthier, that there is an US $2.2 billion sale value of organic fruits and vegetables in the US.

60 % of Danes often buy organic vegetables and milk; 6 % market share for organic food in Denmark.

“Number one” teas in Egypt from SEKEM, 30 % of daily bread in and around Munich or Germany is

organic and 80-905 market share for organic baby food in Germany.

Why Organic Cost more than Commercial Vegetables?

Consumers of naturally produce vegetables know the virtues of organic farming. But the rest of

the world that consumes commercial vegetables asks “Why is organic produce expensive?” Compare

commercially grown tomato with organic one. Visually grown tomatoes look somewhat look alike. The

difference is that organic tomatoes cost P 90 a kilo while commercial tomatoes cost only P 60 a kilo. It
would seem logical to buy the heaper produce. They are different in quality and value (Pardo De Tavera,

2002).

Organic Vegetables and its Nutrient Content

Organic vegetables are more nutritious. Vegetables grown through organic farming in the

Cordillera Region are not only tastier but also have nutritional value higher than commercially grown

food plants. “In particular, elemental concentrations of the tested organic food raised food plants”, said

Ponciano Almonte one of the leading experts in organic farming.

In his documentary presented in the First Organic Congress, Almonte related the tests were

conducted on snap beans, cabbage and lettuce based on nutrient content. He said that organic snap

beans have 40.5 % Cal, 60 % mg, 99.7 % K, 8.6 % Na, 22.7 % Fe and 10 % Cu. For cabbage, the organic

crops have 60 % Ca, 54.6 % Mg, 148.3 % K, 20.4 % Na, 13 % Mn, 94 % Fe and 48 % Cu. Values compared

to inorganics, 17.5 % Ca, 15.6 % Mg, 53.7 % K, 0.8 % Na, 2 % Mn, 20 % Fe and 0.4 % Cu. The

documentary showed that the same trend was observed in lettuce and other crops. Almonte said that

organic farming is providing to be competitive and capable of providing farm products of good quality

(See, 2006).

Organic Farming Development

Kitma (2001) Organic farming and food is receiving increasing attention from consumer farming

and environmental organizations, the public as well as the government. The demand for organic

products has increased over recent years beyond the present domestic production capacity
 Organic farming has developed in response to intensification in other sectors of agriculture. The

first organic farm developed in the 1930’s when the first signs of agricultural intensification appeared in

chemical inputs became more prevalent. This intensification accelerated during and after WWII in

response to an acute need to increase food production across Europe. High production was encourage

by government policy and subsequently by the production boosting subsidies of the CAP, and was

facilitated by the development of new techniques of crop protection and production, such as synthetic

fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

From the late 1960’s, however and specially in the 1970's and 1980's organic gained momentum

as consumers started showing concern about the determined environmental impacts of intensive

agriculture. During that period the number of organic progressively rose, but remained small until the

launch in 1992 of schemes specially introduced to support organic farmers. These schemes were part of

the agri-environment measures that accompanied the 1992 MacSharry CAP reforms.

Organic Production and its Benefits

Adonis (2005) organic farming refers to agricultural production system that take in to account

the following factors: minimum reliance on artificial inputs; feeding the soil and not the plant; food

safety practices; certification of the entire production or distribution chain and not the end product;

non-use of artificial growth enhancers (in livestock), and non-use of genetically modified organisms.

Organic farming promotes a better environment and biodiversity. This is so because in organic

farming the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers is minimized if not avoided. Wildlife friendly mgt.

strategies and harmonious integration of agricultural crops and livestock is also adapted.
 Adonis states also that organic farming in the Philippines started to gain acceptance in the late

1980’s by a few farmers that were dissatisfied with the conventional chemical-based farming. There are

now more than a thousand farmers in the country who are producing pesticide and chemical-free rice,

vegetables, fruits and other food crops through organic farming methods.

One of the provinces in the Philippines that organic farming has gained acceptance is Benguet.

There are already existing organic farms and growing demand for organically grown vegetables in

Benguet. According to the owner of Master’s Garden in La Trinidad Benguet, the demand for organically

grown vegetables is much higher than the existing volume of production.

METHODOLOGY

Locale of Time and Study

This study was conducted in La Trinidad Benguet particularly at the public market because it is

where organic vegetables are being bought by the consumers. This was conducted on January-February,

2004.

Figure 1 shows the area of the study.

Respondents of the Study

 There were 100 respondents of the study. Respondents were the household vegetable

consumers in La Trinidad Benguet.

A questionnaire was used to gather data needed in this study. Aside from the questionnaire, a

personal interview was done added to augment and validate data.

Data Gathered

The data gathered included average income per household, average volume purchased per time

by the respondents, frequency of purchasing organic vegetables by households, the most quality

attributes preferred by the consumers in purchasing organic vegetables, the reasons in purchasing and

suggestions or recommendations in effective marketing of organic vegetables.

Data Analysis

The data gathered were tabulated and analyzed using simple tools such as description analysis,

frequency counts and percentages.

Figure 1. Map of La Trinidad showing the location of the area studied
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Profile of the Respondents

Table 1 shows the data on sex, age, educational attainment, civil status, occupation and

household average monthly income of respondents.

Sex. Forty-four (44 %) out of the one hundred respondents are male and fifty-six (56 %) are

female.

Age. Three (3 %) out of one hundred respondents are within the age bracket of 20 and below,

twenty-two (22 %) are within the age bracket of 21-30, twenty-seven are within the age bracket of

31-40, twenty-six are within the age bracket of 41-50 and seventeen are within the age bracket of 51-60.

Five respondents are within the age bracket of 61 and above.

Educational attainment. The table shows that there are five (5 %) respondents out of one

hundred that are degree holders, forty-seven (47 %) are college graduates, twenty-six are college level,

thirteen are high school graduates and nine (9 %) are elementary graduates.

Civil status. Table 1 shows that out of one hundred respondents, sixteen (16 %) single,

seventeen are widow, and sixty-seven (67 %) are married.

Occupation. Twenty-three (23 %) are employed fulltime, eighteen (18 %) are self-employed and

also eighteen (18 %) are farmers. There are fourteen (14 %) respondents that are business-person, nine

(9 %) are housewives and five (5 %) are retired.

Household average monthly income. Table 1 likewise shows that thirty-eight (38 %) has an

income level of less than then thousand pesos (10,000), thirty-seven (37 %) has an income level of
eleven thousand pesos to fifteen thousand pesos (11,000 – 15,000), fourteen (14 %) respondent has an

income level of sixteen thousand pesos to twenty thousand pesos (16,000 – 20,000), nine (9 %) has an

income level of twenty-one thousand pesos to twenty-five thousand pesos (21,000 – 25,000) and two (2

%) respondents has an income level of twenty-six thousand pesos to thirty thousand pesos (26,000 –

30,000).

Common Organic Vegetables

Table 2 shows the common organic vegetables that consumer consumed/purchased. Majority

(97 %) of the respondents/organic consumers purchase/consume pechay followed by chayote tops (88

%), carrots (78 %), Bell pepper (76 %) and lettuce (68 %).

Organic Vegetable Eaters in the Household

Table 3 shows the vegetable eaters in the household. It shows that (91 %) of all household

members are eaters/consumers of organic vegetable, 5 % consumers eaters organic vegetables alone in

the family. The others, 3 % and 1 % were partners and children respectively
Table 1. Profile of the respondents

PERCENT
ITEM FREQUENCY
(%)

Sex

Male 44 44

Female 56 56

TOTAL 100 100

Age

20 and below 3 3

21-30 22 22

31-40 27 27

41-50 26 26

51-60 17 17

61 and above 5 5

TOTAL 100 100

Educational attainment

Elementary 9 9

High School 13 13

College Level 26 26

College Graduate 47 47

Degree Holder 5 5

TOTAL 100 100

Table 1. Continuation…

PERCENT
ITEM FREQUENCY
(%)

Civil status

Single 16 16

Married 67 67

Widow 17 17

TOTAL 100 100

Occupation

Housewife 9 9

Farmers 18 18

Self-employed 18 18

Employed part-time 13 23

Employed fulltime 23 13

Business person 14 14

Retired 5 5

TOTAL 100 100

Household Average Monthly Income

Less than PhP 10,000 38 38

10,000 – 15,000 37 37

15,001 – 20,000 14 14

20,001 – 25,000 9 9

25,001 – 30,000 2 2

TOTAL 100 100

Table 2. Common organic vegetables purchased by the respondents

PERCENTAGE
VEGETABLES FREQUENCY
(%)

Pechay 97 97

Lettuce 68 68

Carrots 78 78

Bell Pepper 76 76

Chayote Tops 88 88

Table 3. Vegetable eaters in the household

PERCENTAGE
PARTICULAR FREQUENCY
(%)

Only mother 5 5

Father 3 3

Children 1 1

All household members 91 91

Place of Purchasing Organic Vegetables

Table 4 shows the place of purchasing organic vegetables. Majority (90 %) of the respondents

buy organic vegetables at the LaTOPMPC, 3 % of the respondents buy at the branch of LaTOPMPC and 7

% hot their organic vegetables to the organic producers.

Table 4. Place of purchasing organic vegetables

PARTICULAR FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

LaTOPMPC 90 90

Branch of LaTOPMPC 3 3

Organic Farmers 7 7

Average Volume Purchase

The Table 5 shows the average volume purchased per time by the respondents. It shows that

respondents/organic consumer purchase 1.2 kg once a week, 1.06 kg twice a week, 1.07 kg thrice a

week and 5kg everyday. Lettuce has an average volume of 1 kg once a week, carrots (0.8 kg), bell

pepper (0.88 kg) and chayote (1.5 kg).

Frequency of Purchase

Table 6 shows the frequency of purchase on organic vegetables. Purchase frequency is

categorized as: once a week, twice a week, thrice a week, and everyday. Majority of the respondents

purchase vegetables once a week and twice a week and only few purchase thrice a week and only

pechay and chayote tops are purchased everyday by the respondents.

Table 5. Frequency of purchasing organic vegetables

VEGETABLES ONCE A WEEK TWICE A WEEK THRICE A WEEK EVERYDAY

Pechay 55 29 13 3

Lettuce 47 16 5 0

Carrots 49 19 10 0

Bell Pepper 50 18 8 0

Chayote Tops 52 21 11 4

Table 6. Average volume purchase per time by the respondents (kg)

VEGETABLES ONCE A WEEK TWICE A WEEK THRICE A WEEK EVERYDAY

Pechay 1.50 1.06 1.07 1.00

Lettuce 1.00 0.66 0.56 0

Carrots 0.80 0.62 0.45 0

Bell Pepper 0.88 0.56 0.50 0

Chayote Tops 1.50 1.00 0.82 0.75

Importance of Price

Table 7 shows the importance of price to the respondents. There are twenty-two (22) out of

one hundred respondents said that price is much important. Eight out of one hundred respondents said

that price is very much important. They said that organic vegetables are very expensive and they don’t

have enough money to buy for it. Seventy respondents said that price is not important because they
much care for their health but they said also that the organic vegetable is expensive, and they also said

that the seller should see to it that the price is affordable.

Comments on Price

Table 8 shows the comments of respondents on the price of organic vegetables. Since one-

fourth (1/4) kilogram of vegetables cost 25 pesos, the table shows that majority of the respondents said

that the pechay, lettuce, carrots, bell pepper and chayote tops are expensive and only few said that the

price is average.

Table 7. Importance of price to the respondents

ITEM FREQUENCY PERCENT

Very much 8 8

Much 22 22

Not important 70 70
Table 8. Comments on price of organic vegetables

VEGETABLES AVERAGE EXPENSIVE

F % F %

Pechay 33 33 67 67

Lettuce 21 21 79 79

Carrots 16 16 84 84

Bell Pepper 29 29 71 71

Chayote Tops 9 9 91 91

Reasons in Purchasing

Table 9 shows the reason in purchasing organic vegetables. The table shows that there are

seventy-eight respondents agree in the reason that vegetables are most important of daily dish and

there are twenty-two answers in neutral.

Seventy-eight of the respondents agrees that organic vegetables are good sources of essential

vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fiber and twenty-three are neutral.

Five respondents disagree that organic vegetables contains various medical and therapeutic

agent. Sixty-nine of the respondents agree and twenty-six are neutral.

There are seven respondents disagree that organically grown vegetable are healthier, twenty-

five neutral and there are sixty-eight respondents agree for this reason.
 Eight of the respondents don’t care for vegetables wit imperfections even with insect indicating

that they were not sprayed, thirty are neutral and sixty-two of the respondents look for vegetables with

imperfections.

Sixty-seven respondents agree that conventional vegetables are less nutritious than organic

vegetables and thirty-three answers neutral.

There are thirty respondents disagree that organic vegetable are readily available at the market,

twenty-five neutral and forty-five agree.

Table 9. Reasons in purchasing organic vegetables

REASONS DISAGREE NEUTRAL AGREE

Vegetables are most important part of daily dish. 0 22 78

Organic vegetables are good sources of essential vitamins and 0 23 77

minerals as well as dietary fiber.

Organic vegetables contain various medical and therapeutic 5 26 69

agents.

I believe that organically grown vegetables are healthier. 7 25 68

I look for vegetables with imperfections even with insects 8 30 62

indicating that they were not sprayed.
Conventional vegetables are less nutritious than organic 0 33 67
vegetables.

It is readily available at the market. 30 25 45

Most Important Quality Attributes

Table 10a shows the top three most important quality attributes considered by the respondents

in purchasing for each kind of vegetables such as pechay, lettuce, carrots, bell pepper and chayote tops.

Among the ten quality attributes of vegetables, the three most important quality attributes

commonly considered by the respondents in purchasing pechay and lettuce are pesticide free,

appearance and shelf life. For carrots, respondents considered pesticide free, appearance and origin as

most importants attributes in purchasing this kind of vegetables. Pesticide free, appearance and

firmness were considered most important attributes by respondents for chayote tops.

Table 10a. Top 3 most important attributes considered by respondents for each kind of vegetables

QUALITY BELL PEPPER CHAYOTE

PECHAY LETTUCE CARROTS
ATTRIBUTES TOPS

Pesticide free x x x x x

Appearance x x x x x
Shelflife x x x

Origin x

Firmness x

(Please see Appendix Table A for the frequency table of the above)

Least Important Attributes

Table 10b. The table 8.b shows the three least important attributes commonly considered by

respondents are shape, variety and size for pechay, carrots and bell pepper. For lettuce, shape, variety

and price were considered least important. The attributes considered least important for chayote tops

were shape, price and color.

Table 10b. Least important attributes considered by respondents for each kind of vegetables

QUALITY BELL PEPPER CHAYOTE

PECHAY LETTUCE CARROTS
ATTRIBUTES TOPS

Shape x x x x x

Variety x x x x

Size x x x x

Price x

Color

(Please see Appendix Table A for the frequency table of the above)
Problems Encountered in Purchasing

Organic Vegetables

The problems encountered by the respondents in purchasing organic vegetables are lack of

supply, the product is too expensive, they don’t have enough money to buy for the product, some of the

vegetables were rotten and the market of organic vegetables is far from their house.

Suggestions/Recommendations from Consumer

for the Effective Marketing of Organic Vegetables

The respondents suggested that the organic vegetables producers should have more market

outlet and more products or supply. Respondents suggested also that organic vegetables producers

should do some seminars or advertisements to let the people know their place in the market. Nice

packaging was also suggested by the consumers. Organic vegetables producers should do something

the preserve the freshness of vegetable until it was disposed and lessen the price. The respondents also

said that organic practitioners should have certification telling that the organic vegetables they are

selling are really an organic one. Organic vegetables producers should let the consumer visit their farm

to see that they are not really using any chemicals on their farms.
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

The study mainly describes the nature of household consumption of organic vegetables in La

Trinidad. Specifically to find out the organic vegetables consumed by the consumers, reasons why

consumer consume organic vegetable, perceptions of consumer in purchasing organic vegetables,

volume of organic vegetable purchased per time by the respondents/consumer, problems encountered

by consumers on purchasing organic vegetable, suggestions/recommendation of consumers for the

effective marketing strategy.

There are one hundred (100) respondents of the study. All of the respondents are organic

consumers from La Trinidad, Benguet.

A survey questionnaire was used in gathering the data. Aside from the questionnaire, a

personal interview was added. The data was collected, tabulated and analyzed using simple tools such

as description analysis, frequency counts and percentages.

Most of the respondents were female since mostly are housewives who are going to the market.

The respondents mostly at the age range of thirty-one to forty and most college graduate. Most

respondents have a household average monthly income level of less than ten thousand.

The data shows that most of the respondents said that price is not important in purchasing

organic vegetables because they much care about their health, but then they said organic vegetables

producers should lessen the price so that they could purchase more of the products.
 Results also shows the top three most important and least important quality attributes

considered by the respondents in purchasing vegetables such as pechay, lettuce, carrots, bell pepper

and chayote tops. It shows that among the ten quality attributes of vegetables, the tree most important

quality attributes commonly considered by the respondents are pesticide free, appearance, origin and

firmness. The three least important attributes were shape, variety, size, price and color.

The results also show the problems encountered by the respondents in purchasing organic

vegetables. The problems are lack of supply, the product is too expensive, they don’t have enough

money to buy for the product some of the vegetables were ratter, and the market of organic vegetables

is far from their home.

Conclusions

Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were made:

d. Price is not that important to the consumer in purchasing organic vegetables, but then

organic vegetable producers should lessen the price for the consumer to purchase more of

the product.

e. Most quality attributes considered by the consumer in purchasing organic vegetables are

pesticide free, appearance, shelf life, origin and firmness and the least important are shape,

size, variety, color and price.

f. Suggestion from the respondents/consumer includes the good packaging for the product.

Organic practitioners should have more outlets for market and more supply of the product.
Recommendations

5. Organic producers should have more outlet market and supply of the product.

6. Organic vegetables market should have a certificatory/assurance that the vegetable they are

selling is really an organic one.

7. Organic vegetable producer should lessen the price so that the volume of purchase was

increased.

8. Organic vegetable producer should find ways to preserve the freshness of the product until

it was disposed.

LITERATURE CITED

ADONIS, D.C. 2005. Organic farming experiences. The case of Samuel Cabansi. Experiences in
Agricultural Production Management in Benguet. BSU La Trinidad, Benguet. P. 9.

BARROZO, R.S. 2006. Organic standards and regulations paper presented during the first Cordillera
Organic Agricultural Congress held at Benguet State University on January 14-16, 2006.

HALL, C. 2002. A guide to marketing organic produce. Paper presented during the Public Consultation
on Organic Agriculture Standards held at Hotel Supreme, 133 Magsaysay St. on May 2, 2002.
KITMA, C.G. 2001. Principles of organic vegetable farming “the Benguet Experience”.

LAYESE, G. C. 2006. Status of Organic Agriculture in the Philippines. Paper presented during the first
Cordillera Organic Congress held at Benguet State University.

PARDO DE TAVERA, M. 2006. Philippines Daily Inquirer. November 07, 2002. Vol. 17 No. 332. Pp. P1, P4.

PEARS, P. 2005. Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic. The Complete Guide to Natural Chemical
Free Gardening. Pp. 9-14, 18.

PEARLS, P and STICKLANDS, S. 1995. Organic Gardening. The Royal Horticultural Society. Pp. 3-5.

SEE, D. 2006. Manila Bulletin. March 30, 2006. 399 (30). P. E1.

APPENDIX A. Quality attributes of consumers in purchasing organic vegetables

PESTICIDE
APPEARANCE SIZE COLOR SHAPE FIRMLESS PRICE
ITEM RANK FREE

N % N % N % N % N % N % N %

Pechay 1 100 100

2 28 28 3 3 10 10 0 0 10 10 5 5

3 28 28 10 10 0 0 6 6 10 10 10 10

4 20 20 5 5 22 22 6 6 25 25 7 7 1

5 19 19 16 16 15 15 18 18 22 22 13 13 2

6 1 1 25 25 10 10 15 15 10 10 18 18 1
 7 2 2 25 25 18 18 10 10 10 10 17 17 1

8 1 1 11 11 10 10 10 10 8 8 12 12 1

9 0 0 5 5 15 15 5 5 4 4 8 8

10 1 1 0 0 0 0 30 30 1 1 0 0

TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Lettuce 1 100 100

2 28 28 5 5 6 6 0 0 13 13 6 6

3 25 25 10 10 7 7 2 2 12 12 6 6

4 25 25 2 2 20 20 6 6 13 13 11 11

5 10 10 17 17 13 13 18 18 4 4 6 6

6 8 8 16 16 13 13 11 11 22 22 14 14 1

7 2 2 20 2 20 20 6 6 11 11 17 17

8 2 2 15 15 10 10 6 6 10 10 19 19

9 0 0 15 15 11 11 14 14 10 10 21 21

10 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 37 5 5 0 0

TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Carrots 1 100 100

2 24 24 2 7 7 7 0 0 15 15 15 15

3 18 18 11 11 6 6 5 5 10 10 12 12

4 15 15 7 7 18 18 4 4 18 18 9 9

5 16 16 19 19 12 12 14 14 6 6 6 6

6 8 8 15 15 14 14 10 10 21 21 16 16

7 7 7 18 18 19 19 14 14 11 11 13 13

APPENDIX A. Continuation…
 PESTICIDE
APPEARANCE SIZE COLOR SHAPE FIRMLESS PRICE
ITEM RANK FREE

N % N % N % N % N % N % N %

8 5 5 13 13 12 12 8 8 8 8 12 12

9 1 1 10 10 11 11 10 10 6 6 12 12

10 6 6 5 5 1 1 35 35 5 5 5 5

TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

Bell 1 100 100

pepper

2 28 12 12 5 5 0 0 11 11 9 9

3 22 15 15 1 1 2 2 9 9 8 8

4 23 5 5 17 17 2 2 12 12 4 4

5 13 13 13 15 15 13 13 8 8 5 5

6 4 17 17 14 14 10 10 18 18 10 10

7 4 17 17 21 21 10 10 21 21 25 25

8 3 18 18 13 13 9 9 10 10 21 21

9 1 23 23 14 14 14 14 10 10 14 14

10 2 0 0 0 0 40 40 1 1 4 4

TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

Sayote 1 100 100

tops

2 24 24 0 0 4 4 0 0 15 15 10 10

3 19 19 10 10 5 5 2 2 10 10 11 11

4 21 21 8 8 13 13 10 10 16 16 7 7

5 14 14 14 14 11 11 10 10 13 13 10 10

6 7 7 20 20 17 17 8 8 17 17 9 9

7 8 8 19 19 21 21 8 8 11 11 18 18
 8 4 4 16 16 13 13 8 8 7 7 18 18

9 0 0 8 8 13 13 16 16 8 8 14 14

10 3 3 5 5 3 3 38 38 3 3 3 3

TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

APPENDIX B. Letter to the Respondents

Benguet State University

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

La Trinidad, Benguet

November 13, 2006

Dear Respondents,

I am a fourth year student of Benguet State University taking up Bachelor of Science in

Agriculture major in Agricultural Economics. I am presently conducting a research study, “Household
Consumption for Organic Vegetable in La Trinidad.”

In this concern, may I solicit your full cooperation towards the success of this study by answering
the survey questionnaire honestly and completely. I assure you that your answer will be confidential
and will only be use for the success of this study.

Your full support in this request is very much appreciated.

Respectfully yours,
ELIZABETH B. WACLIN

Researcher
 APPENDIX C. Survey Questionnaire

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS (Please check one)

1. Sex: ( ) Male ( ) Female

2. What is your age? _____ years

3. Civil Status: ( ) Single ( ) Widow/widower

( ) Married if married, no. of children ______

4. Address _______________________________________________________

(Street/Purok) (Barangay) (Municipality)

5. Educational Attainment: ( ) Elementary ( ) High school graduate

( ) Completed College ( ) Vocational/College level

( ) Graduate degree-MS MA PhD., etc

6. Occupation: ( ) Farmer ( ) Housewife

( ) Employed fulltime ( ) Employed, part-time

( ) Self employed ( ) Businessman/woman

( ) Student ( ) Retired
 7. Household description ( ) single, living alone

( ) living with a family with _____ members

8. Household average monthly income

( ) less than PhP 10,000 ( ) PhP 10,000 – 15,000 ( ) PhP 10,000 – 15,000

( ) PhP 21,000 – 30,000 ( ) PhP 31,000 – 40,000 ( ) Above 40,000

CONSUMPTION OF ORGANIC VEGETABLES

9. Do you purchase/consume organic vegetables? ( ) yes ( ) no

10. What are the organic vegetable do you purchase/consume?

Vegetables Please Check

Petchay

Lettuce

Carrot

Bell pepper

Sayote tops

Others (pls. specify)

11. Who eats vegetables in your family?

( ) me only ( ) children

( ) me and my partner ( ) all household member

12. Where do you buy organic products

 ( ) La Trinidad organic store (LTOPMC)

( ) Branch of LTOPMC organic store in Baguio City

( ) Farmer organic producers

( ) Others (specify) __________________________

13. How much organic vegetables do you purchase per time?

Organic vegetables Frequency of Volume of purchase Price of the Estimated amount

purchasing in (kg.) (pls. indicate) vegetable per kilo spent
(pls. indicate)
A. once a week

B. twice a week

C. thrice a week

D. everyday

Petchay

Lettuce

Carrot

Bell pepper

Sayote tops

Others (pls. specify)

14. Is price important to you when purchasing organic vegetables? (pls. check one)

( ) very much ( ) much ( ) not important

Why? _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

15. What is your comments on organic vegetable price?

Organic vegetables Cheap Average Expensive

 Petchay

Lettuce

Carrot

Bell pepper

Sayote tops

Others (pls. specify)

PERCEPTION OF PURCHASING ORGANIC VEGETABLES

16. Please check if you agree or disagree on the following reason why you are
purchasing/consuming organic vegetables

Organic vegetables Disagree Neutral Agree

1. Vegetable are most important for daily dish

2. Organic vegetable are good sources of essential

vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fiber

3. Organic vegetables contain various medical and

therapeutic agent

4. I believe that organically grown vegetables are

healthier

5. I look for vegetables with imperfections, even

with insect indicating that they were not sprayed

6. Conventional vegetables are less nutritious than

organic vegetables

7. It is readily available in the market

 17. Please rank the quality of the organic vegetables which you consider important in
purchasing consuming them.

(Rank them from most important (1) to least important (10) for each kind of vegetables)

Quality Petchay Lettuce Carrot Bell pepper Sayote tops Others

(specify)

Pesticide free

Appearance

Size

Color

Shape

Firmness

Price

Variety

Origin

Shelf life

18. Do you encounter any problem in consuming organic vegetables? (please check)

( ) yes ; if yes (please indicate problem) ______________________

______________________

( ) no

19. What is your suggestion/recommendation for marketing organic vegetables? (pls indicate)

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________