Project Overview

Together with the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) and local partners, we seek to conduct a geospatial study to understand how food environments influence fruit and vegetable consumption in two communities in Nueva Ecija, the Philippines. This study aims to increase the availability, affordability, accessibility, and desirability of fruits and vegetables. The work focuses on the dynamic mapping of food environments, using a mix of surveys and GPS data to document and evaluate how consumers interact with their food environment in acquiring and consuming fruits and vegetables.

Objectives

Support WorldVeg and its country partners in the conduct of geospatial-based food environment research proposing research-oriented methodologies, efficient and locally-oriented field survey system, and state-of-the-art geospatial analysis and visualization. Our specific objectives are:

1. Provide technical expertise in refining and implementing a mixed-methods study protocol that captures geospatial data on interactions between consumers and the food environments;

2. Develop robust, efficient and reproducible data collection instruments and system (including an enumerator training manual), that minimise the burden on both participants and enumerators.

3. Produce a geodatabase of all the survey and trip diary information in relation to food consumption and environment; and

4. Conduct spatial analysis and visualization through geo-stories using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and WebGIS tools, respectively.

Methodology and Activities

The methodology will incorporate both quantitative and qualitative approaches to capture and map detailed information on food environments and consumer behaviors. Our approach makes use of a mobile survey app with fully offline capability to gather GPS data and trip diaries, seamlessly integrated to a geodatabase toward spatial-temporal analysis and visualizations.

Project Overview

Within the FRESH Initiative, together with the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and the Department of Science and Technology Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), we are to conduct qualitative research to understand how interventions in food environments might encourage and enable people to consume a wide range of safe, quality fruits and vegetables. We are working in two communities in Nueva Ecija Region. This particular piece of work will focus on understanding lived experiences of food environments, using in-depth interviews to document and evaluate how consumers and vendors interact in retail settings to purchase, sell and consume fruits and vegetables.

Objective

A series of in-depth interviews with selected consumers and vendors (40 in total), to assess issues related to sources of fruits and vegetables, drivers of purchase and sale decisions, factors influencing prices, quality and safety, challenges in accessing fruits and vegetables, and how these might be addressed.