Barriers to expanding Banana production among CLAGIBAPLA farmers

Abstract

Surigao del Norte is a province in the Philippines situated in the Caraga region, occupying the north-eastern section of Mindanao’s capital City of Surigao. The constituents of the CLAGIBAPLA ARC are the four municipalities of Surigao del Norte: Claver, Gigaquit, Bacuag, and Placer. The total land area of the CLAGIBAPLA ARC is 60,423 hectares, wherein 48% of this area is considered agricultural land. Some areas still need to be more utilized and idle, with the potential to be converted into productive farmlands. Although coconut is the primary commodity and concedes as the biggest agri-products planted in the CLAGIBAPLA ARC, bananas ranked second, followed by vegetables. Banana is the leading fruit grown in the Philippines and a consistent top-dollar earner. The prospect of Philippines bananas in the domestic and foreign markets is still promising. The value chain mapping of bananas within the locality was conducted and participated by the stakeholders currently producing bananas, processing, and trading. Furthermore, data gathering and Focus Group Discussion were employed to finalize the feasibility study. Survey questionnaires were used for the following groups: farmers, people’s organizations, traders, processors, and stakeholders. CLAGIBAPLA banana farmers planned to expand their area allocated for banana production by at least 10 to 50%; however, barriers like low prices, less market information, facilities, equipment, additional services and financing should be addressed to maximize their produce and profit.