Commodity Flow of Agricultural Products in Selected Municipalities in Ilocos Sur: An Evaluation

Abstract

This study aimed to: identify the major agricultural products produced by the farmers in selected municipalities of Ilocos Sur, detennine their flow/movements from the producer to the consumer, identify the different intermediaries involved, and know the common problems confronting their movements. The study made use of the descriptive method of research and purposive sampling technique of gathering the data. The scope covered five (5) municipalities of Ilocos Sur, namely: Magsingal, Sinait, Tagudin, Cervantes, and San Emilio with f5fly (S0) farmers each as respondents totalling to two hundred fifty (250). The data gathering tool used was the survey questionnaire using the frequency and percentage methods for data treatment Results of the study showed that the major agricultural products produced by the farmers are palay (rice), fruit trees, rootcrops, com, tobacco, vegetables, pineapple, watermelon, coffee, cotton and sugarcane. Said farmers are also raising chicken, pig, carabao, cattle, goat, dog, cat, ducks, turkey, deer, geeze, pigeons, and horse for additional income. Majority of the farmers expressed their preference of selling their goods within the barangay or farmer's home while some sell them directly to ultimate consumers through wholesale or retail. The commonproblems hindering the movement of their products as were: High input cost but lowproducts price, difficulty ofbringing their products to the market due to poor roads and bridges and lack of transport facilities, questionable weighing scale of buyers, lack of government support, non-payment of cash on delivery by buyers, non-availability of buyers during peak of harvest, and perishability ofgoods due to storage problems.