**3.4 Taro value chain diagram**

According to **Figure 2**, farmers typically engage with two types of traders: sellers, processors, and intermediaries. There have been instances where they have sold it straight to customers; however, this occurs seldom and in extremely little quantities. Sellers, on the other hand, can sell it directly to customers or to food processors, depending on the price agreed upon. This is most common in the markets of central Goa, San Jose, Tigaon, and Lagonoy, where marketing activities take place twice

#### **Figure 2.**

*Diagram of the Taro value chain in the Partido District, the Philippines.*

a week. Taro processing begins when taro is sold to a customer or a food processor, as indicated by the dark green part of the map.

During the data collection, it was discovered that the intermediary was acting in two roles: as an assembler and as a processor. Farmers sell raw Taros, which are then processed into food and/or culinary additives. Taro is transported from the farm to the storage facility using the middleman's vehicle. Granulation is the process of cutting tubers into little pieces using a granulating machine. Then it's dried for 2 to 3 days on a drying pavement or in a drying facility. It is sold to a feed processor outside of the Municipality of Goa after processing, as indicated by the gray part of the map.

The distribution of Taro in Partido, Camarines Sur is also depicted in **Figure 1** as transaction pathways. The main line of the local Taro value chain, Transaction Path 1, provides minimal returns to growers. The most profitable transaction paths for farmers are 2, 3, and 4, with path 2 being the longest and least sorted. Sellers, on the other hand, have three options: transaction 2, 3, or 4, all of which give an acceptable and equal return.

#### **3.5 The taro value chain's assets, liabilities, interest, revenue, and costs**

In a structured interview by the researchers with the respondents of this study, the only accounts they recognized for the asset section are cash, receivables, machinery and equipment, loan receivables, supplies, and furniture and fixture. For the liability section, accounts payable only. For the equity section, they have an unrestricted fund which they used in farming operations or in selling activities, they also recognized expenses (outflows), such as transportation expense/logistics, expenses, miscellaneous expenses, rentals, registration expenses, fertilizers expenses, and tubers expense. They only have sales income for income/revenues (inflow). They do not, however, account for non-cash expenses, hence depreciation was calculated using the straight-line approach rather than the diminishing balance method. Crop accounting analysis was used to assess all of the accounts concerned.

*The Dynamics of Taro (*Colocasia esculenta*) through Value Chain Analysis and Crop… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106853*

#### **3.6 Existing taro value chain entry constraints**

Since the location is located in the Philippines' super typhoon capital zone, typhoons are the natural entry barriers. Most of the farmers claimed that they have lower production than the previous harvest. They attributed it to the poor soil condition which is typical to the Taro farmlands when the soils are not properly managed or used. This study revealed that all of the respondents employ conventional tillage which is not a sustainable farming practice and can adversely affect Taro production. This practice can increase the initial year of farm production; however, it destroys the soil composition and kills the microorganisms, which nourishes Taro in times of nutrient depletion, by exposing it to the scorching sun [14].

Most of the farmers also identified the lack of capital as their major difficulty in farming Taro. This also resulted in a lower farm yield because of the inability to buy the necessary farm inputs. As stated earlier, only one respondent used fertilizer and produced the highest yield. It is due to the fact that, in addition to its ability to produce a reasonable yield on low-fertility soils, Taro responds very well to fertilization. Being aware of their capital deficiency, most of the respondents recommended financial support as a key to improving their Taro production.

Farmers also complained that the low price of the product is their major marketing difficulty. This finding is in consonance with the study conducted and data provided by authoritative agencies [24, 25]. On the other hand, sellers complained that instability of price is their major difficulty in marketing Taro. It is primarily due to several factors that can lead to price determination. However, their recommendation was on the provision of a proper place of operation. Sellers in the market have no permanent location and have to find their own place every time they want to sell goods. They usually conduct their marketing activities under their makeshift tents which poses a big problem when bad weather comes.

#### **3.7 Assess the accounting practices applied by each player in the value chain.**

In this part, the researcher determined whether the players maintained financial records of their transactions, the books being maintained, and the time basis for keeping a record. It also includes the accounting method used in recording, the accounting system, the bookkeeping system, the financial statements being prepared, and the time interval in preparing the financial report. Apparently, most of the players are not keeping accounts or financial transactions. They simply record their income and expenses but they did not keep this record in the long run.
