Thesis, Undergraduate (B.S. Agribusiness Economics)--University of the Philippines, Mindanao

Davao Oriental is one of the major players in terms of falcata wood-based production. In the past years, various issues in the supply chain of falcata were recognized by chain actors. This includes input financing, lack of market information, and dominance of market intermediaries. As such, the main objective of this study is to map out and analyze the performance of falcata supply chains in Davao Oriental. Specifically, the study (1) identified and analyzed the supply chain of falcata; (2) determined inefficiencies among chain actors and activities through chain performance analysis; and (3) identified key entry points for intervention strategies. The study found out that most farmers in Davao Oriental are unaware of the proper crop management and harvesting of falcata trees. Trees grown for more than 8 years have bigger diameter which commands a higher market price. However, most farmers tend to sell or cut falcata trees before the appropriate harvesting year. As such, revenues from the sale of falcata trees are lower. The study also identified that veneering plants and sawmills in Davao Oriental, Davao City, Tagum City and Butuan City are the main markets of falcata in Davao Oriental. Setting the prices for logs and falcata areas are based on the agreement of farmers and buyers. However, traders possess some degree of buying power over the falcata tree owners. This market power arises due to the inability of tree growers to market their own falcata trees. Marketing falcata logs require a huge amount of cost in processing permit to cut and transport, labor cost for harvesting and hauling, transportation costs, and payments for SOPs. There are also a lot of issues concerning the lead time and logistics of falcata logs. It takes around 14 days to harvest the falcata logs from the farm area before it can be transported to WPPS. The bottlenecks lie on the processing of permit to use of animal carriage to relay falcata logs. Lastly, value in the falcata chain can be created in the aggregation activities but communication and relationship flows from farmers to market intermediaries need to be improved.