Assessment of the commercial viability of urban container gardening as a household and community-based social enterprise in Mati City, Davao Oriental /
Diego Luis Suelto, adviser
- 2018
- 56 leaves
Thesis (BS Agribusiness Economics) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, May 2018
Social enterprises (SEs) are a fast-growing trend of business that aim to produce social value primarily to their marginalized stakeholders. Urban Container Gardening (UCG) is a modern system of growing vegetables at a household level which was introduced to the poor households of Mati City by its local government unit (LGU), in hopes of providing them with a potential source of livelihood. This research was conducted in order to determine UCG's viability as a social enterprise, using a feasibility study approach along with a probit regression analysis. This is done first by determining the factors that affect the adoption of UCG, using the regression analysis. Then, UCG's market, technical, and financial feasibility will be evaluated along with the calculation of various capital budgeting metrics, including the social return of investment. This study was conducted in three barangays in Mati City where the technology was introduced. The research identified the main drivers of UCG adoption; namely household lot area, household size, and farming experience, and that Davao Oriental holds the second largest demand for vegetable products. In terms of production, UCG adopters have the ability to produce at a consistent level, provided that they have some sort of connection to the market. Adopters who are connected with their market produce higher volumes of vegetables and at a more constant level compared to those without. Financially, UCG has proven to be able to generate substantial financial and social returns to the poor households. The major issue observed by this research was the lack of connectivity between producers and consumers. Providing the UCG adopters with a form of connection with their market incentives them to produce more and at a constant production level.