ASCOT Library Zabali Campus

Master of Science in Environmental Management

The study aimed to answer whether the ornamental plants that became trending to plantitos and plantitas during COVID-19 pandemic in the central municipalities of Aurora have potential socio-economic impact especially in terms of net profit and Return on Investment (ROI), and find out if it can be considered as an alternative source of livelihood during this time of health crisis.
Results show that there were 225 species of ornamental plants identified during the survey. The genus of Philodendron had the greatest number of species being traded with 57 different varieties, followed by the genus of Calathea with 56 different varieties, then the mixed genera which comprised of different species with 35 different varieties, Aglaonema with 34 different species, Dieffenbachia with 16 species, Caladium with 10 species, Alocasia with 9 species and the Ficus with 8 different varieties.
The species of Philodendron prince of orange had the highest ROI with 194%, followed by Philodendron green serratum with 182% and Philodendron mayoi with 153%. The said species, therefore, were the most promising to venture if someone is planning to engage in trading ornamental plants.
Out of 44 respondents who were engaged in the complete process of ornamental trading from collecting, buying, propagating and selling, twenty-six or 59% have more than 10% ROI, while the 18 or 41% have ROI of below 10%.
The results show that the monthly income of the respondents ranged from PhP339.00 to Php8,363.00. When projected for annual income, respondent number 9 had the lowest annual income of Php4,065 while the one with the highest income was respondent number 7 with projected annual income of Php100,356.00.