Socio-Economic and Agro-Ecological Characterization of

Onion Production Environment in Central Luzon

By: Antalan, Rodolfo Jr., V., Dela Cruz, Nenita E., Gualberto, R., Porciuncula, Fe L., Trimor,
Belen P.,
Central Luzon State University
Published in 2006 as Research Paper, available at the CLSU library
Downloaded 42 times since Sep 21 2013

Keyword/s: Central Luzon, onion production,

Onion is an important agricultural crop in Central Luzon and the challenge remains to find
ways and means to further improve the onion industry. The general objective of this
research was to establish benchmark information and assess the socio-economic and agroecological characteristics of onion production environment in Central Luzon. The study was
conducted in Nueva Ecija being the largest onion producer in Region III involving 138
farmers from San Jose (50); Bongabon (50) and Munoz (38). Both primary and secondary
data were used. The descriptive part of the study defined the socio-economic and agroecological environment. Cost and return analysis was used to determine profitability of
onion production. Onion was generally cultivated after rice during the months of November
to December and harvested in February to March. Results of the soil analyses taken from
Palestina, San Jose City showed that the soil in the study area had low to medium fertility
level; acidic with an average pH value of 5.43; low total nitrogen (0.12%); medium
available P (46.85 ppm) and medium exchangeable K (53.94 ppm). The results conform to
the farmers perception on the fertility status of their soils. The soil generally had good
drainage, under lowland not flooded category. The occurrence of rainfall in the months of
November and December in onion growing areas was disadvantageous in terms of offseason onion production particularly in San Jose since this coincided with the bulbing stage
and harvesting period. The average amount of annual rainfall was 1940 mm. The air
temperature was within the temperature range of the onion varieties planted in the areas
considered. The onion growers have land to till, own basic implements for onion production
and have adequate level of education and living condition, indications of reinforcing
characteristics for growth and development. Their principal sources of information were
fellow farmers (43%), sales agents/technicians (33%) and government technicians (22%).
They were generally exposed to informal sources of credit which imposed higher interest
rates. The onion farmers possessed skills and experience in production but continued to
employ some practices that were not sustainable such as reliance on pesticides alone for
pest and disease control and use of high levels of inorganic fertilizer. The farmer
respondents cited excessive rain, high input cost, losses due to pest and diseases, lack of
capital, and prevalence of weeds as the major production problems which had significant
effects on yield and income of farmers. The marketing problems cited were low output price,
control of prices by buyers and price instability, which can be attributed to seasonality, and
the recent influx of cheap imports. Certainly there were critical issues and concerns that
face the onion production environment such as declining fertility levels of most onion farms,
reliance on chemicals and high levels of inorganic fertilizer use, continued exposure to
informal sources of credit, high input cost and declining prices of onion. Efforts must be

made towards ensuring that the interest of the onion growers and the industry in general be
safeguarded particularly in an increasingly globalized world.