VALUE CHAIN

SWEET POTATOES IN LANAO DEL SUR

© FAO
ANALYSIS
HIGHLIGHTS

BACKGROUND
This study examines the sweet potato value chain for Selected Municipalities in Lanao del Sur and identifies needed
interventions to improve the livelihood of internally displaced farmers affected by the Marawi conflict.
This is part of the project entitled “Support for enhancing agri-based livelihoods of internally displaced farmers
affected by the Marawi conflict” supported by the Australian Government through Community and Family Services
International (CFSI). It aims to provide livelihood support through the provision of agricultural inputs and machineries as
well as training for the sustainable economic recovery of the displaced, especially the most vulnerable and those with
special needs. This includes strengthening the enabling environment and improving production and processing, and
marketing platforms of selected agricultural value chains in Lanao del Sur. This study is in collaboration with Xavier
University – Ateneo de Cagayan.

OBJECTIVE
The study examined sweet potato value chains in Lanao del Sur and Cagayan de Oro to identify needed interventions in
improving the livelihood of internally displaced farmers affected by the Marawi conflict.

METHODOLOGY
Focus group discussions with selected FAO farmer-beneficiaries, interviews with fresh market retailers and processors,
and secondary data collection were conducted.

THE SWEET POTATO INDUSTRY

• In the Philippines, sweet potato is considered a subsistence crop (Cabanilla, 1996)
and a secondary source of income among farmers (UPWARD, 1993 as cited in
Cabanilla, 1996).
• Production has declined, in terms of volume and area harvested, since the 1980s,
though with a slight uptick in the past 5 years (FAO, 2019).
• The 2017 net profit-to-cost ratio is 2:1, meaning farmers could earn about Php 2.00

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net profit for every Php 1.00 spent in production (Philippine Statistics Office, 2019).
• What was formerly ARMM is the weakest contributor to the country’s sweet potato
production. Within ARMM, Lanao del Sur is the major producer (Philippine Statistics
Authority, 2019).

CONSTRAINTS
The value chain analysis (VCA) of sweet potatoes in Lanao del Sur and Cagayan de Oro
identifies the following constraints:
• Lack of knowledge about production and postharvest handling. This is manifested
by low crop yield, high postharvest losses and poor tuber quality.
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• The participants do not apply fertilizers. Sweet potato provides adequate yield with
minimum fertilizer inputs, can be inter-cropped and grows year-round.
• Post-harvest losses are high. One farmer indicated that occasionally 30-40% of
sweet potato produce is rejected by buyers. Damage due to weevil is common.
Tubers that are often cracked, misshapen or oversized are still edible, however,
farmers consider such tubers to be low quality.
• Extension support services may not be available at the local level. There is a
recently established CBO, but still needs to strengthen its capacity to support
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farmer-beneficiaries.
• High cost of transport for tubers from Marantao to Iligan City. Marantao is 47 km
away from the main trading center in Iligan City. As a result, Marantao tubers fetch
lower prices. Improving tuber quality could be key toward expanding the market
opportunities of Marantao sweet potatoes.
FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The following measures are recommended to maximize the
benefit of participating in the Marantao sweet potato value
chain:
1. Capacitate and/or strengthen farmer-
beneficiaries with better farming and post-harvest
practices to improve yield and product quality.
The highest yield mentioned in the focus group
discussions (FGDs) is just half of the national
average, indicating a substantial amount of lost
economic opportunity. There is a need for trainings
to improve farming techniques to maximize market
opportunities. Farmers with the highest potential
should be given attention such that they can
become community models and serve as in-house
specialists in their CBOs. PhilRootCrops (in Visayas
State University), DA and ATI in BARMM can be
potential partners. Collaboration with DA Northern
Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock
Complex can be done to learn from their
experience working with successful sweet potato
farmers in Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte.
2. Strengthen CBOs and capacitate them to run a
profitable sweet potato enterprise.
CBOs could serve as a marketing arm for their
members’ produce. There is a need to strengthen
SWEET POTATO VALUE CHAIN FLOW
CAGAYAN DE ORO
Some rights reserved. This work is available
under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence.
the CBOs leadership, governance and competence to
manage future livelihood enterprises. The CBOs
should have the resources and the capacity to be able
to provide the services needed by the farmers.
3. Expand opportunities by linking CBOs to potential
markets in key Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon cities.
The existing market outlets can absorb the demand,
but farmers can explore other direct markets such as
public markets in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro city to
gain experience and develop the supply chain. DTI
and/or NGOs could help facilitate entry into these
markets.
4. Partner with the Philippine Root Crops Research and
Training Center (PhilRootCrops) to provide
integrated production and post-production
solutions.
PhilRootCrops is highly experienced in addressing the
challenges confronting the root crop industry and
communities. Areas of collaboration could include
farmers’ training, enterprise development,
strengthening sweet potato-specific LGU extension
services, product development and linking with
development partners, industry processors and big
markets.
LANAO DEL SUR
CA7552EN/1/01.20
CONTACT US:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
© FAO, 2020
Representation in Philippines
Tel.: +632 8638 9886
Website: FAO-PH@FAO.org