Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for - Aseanipm ...

Section 2 • General Topics for Farmer Field Schools
Exercise No. 2.08 34
COST AND RETURN ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC VEGETABLE
PRODUCTION
BaCKGroUND aND raTIoNalE
Finding a market for organic vegetable produce is one of
most important activities of an organic vegetable farmer.
Always remember that no price should be considered fixed.
A price is simply an offer or a suggestion to test prevailing
market rate. If a buyer accept an offer, it is fine. If he or she
rejects, price usually may be changed as quickly as possible.
But one should see to it that there is a profit. Farmers should
understand meaning and importance of pricing. A price
offered to a buyer depends largely on quality of an organic
vegetable product 35 .
After farmers had successfully learned and understood what records would be useful to keep, a
guided discussion and sharing on cost and return analysis of their organic vegetable production can
be undertaken. Data obtained from an earlier exercise on ‘why’ and ‘what’ to record will be very
useful for this next activity. A cost and return analysis can be a useful tool in project planning and
in predicting how a business would operate under a set of assumptions 36 .
In this exercise we will try to start with a question ‘What profit farmers will make now?’ This will
allow them to share useful records they keep for this current season. This sharing discussion will
allow farmers to find out whether they will now make profit or not. Thus, this activity was designed
to address such particular concern.
How long will this exercise take?
• One to two hours of an FFS meeting
34 Adapted from Callo, Jr., D.P., L.B. Teofilo, and H.A. Tauli (eds). 2002. Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for Vegetable IPM, Volume II. SEAMEO
Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. pp51-54.
35 Tabinga, G.A. and A.O. Gagni. 1985. Corn Production in the Philippines. Department of Development Communication, University of the Philippines at
Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines. pp94-102.
36 PCARRD. 2007. Profitability analysis: 1-ha organic tomato production. (Profitability Analysis No. 09/007). Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry
and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. 14p.
45
when is this exercise most
appropriate?
ɶ This exercise is most
appropriate toward the
end of an FFS season;
and
ɶ When farmers want to
learn and understand
how records of their
production and labor
costs in learning field
experiments and in their
own fields can be used for
cost and return analysis
of their organic vegetable
production.