Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus

1. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus 4th Meeting of the TC on Poverty Statistics August 11, 2004

2. Outline of the Presentation • Background • Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus • Sample Results • Possible Sources of Overestimation/Underestimation

3. I. Background NSCB Executive Board meeting held on June 5, 2002 • Presentation of the initial provincial poverty statistics using the initially approved methodology • The NSCB Technical Staff to review methodology due to some findings

4. I. Background Findings based on the results of the initial validation of provincial menus 1. Large variability of thresholds within regions (Region 3) 2. Some of the provincial thresholds are higher than NCR 3. Some of the commodities identified in the provincial menu are not “low-cost” but more of “commonly-eaten” 4. Use of “low-cost” menu is possible without sacrificing nutritional requirements

5. I. Background Improvement of the Provincial Poverty Estimation Methodology (Area 2) – WB ASEM Grant Phase I • Study the validity of the proposed provincial menus; • Recommendations made to improve the proposed provincial menus will be consulted with the Project Consultant to check the validity of the changes made/proposed by the Project Staff; • Conduct of tests of revealed preferences using the revised provincial menus

6. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Main Objective Come up with the least-cost possible and nutritionally adequate menu comprised of low-cost food items that are eaten and available in the province

7. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus General Guidelines • To address the issue of comparability across space, start with a nationally-representative reference menu that is simple, nutritious and potentially low-cost and one that reflects the meal pattern of a poor household; • All menus should meet the nutritional requirements based on the approved methodology: Energy and protein: 100% Other Vitamins and minerals: 80% (calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C) .

8. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Reference Menu <

9. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines • Determine alternative food items

10. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 2) Standard measurements for selected food items

11. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . • Weight of other food items • - should be within the range of acceptable/reasonable weights • - observe proper proportions (e.g. for sauteed mongo, ratio of malunggay/ampalaya leaves to mongo is at most 1:1) • 4) Assumptions • 4.1 Among the snack items, camote is the most nutritious, followed by cassava, then saba. Although cassava is not superior to saba in all nutrient types, cassava is richer in nutrients that are oftentimes difficult to satisfy, e.g., energy, iron, niacin.

12. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . .

13. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 4) Assumptions (cont’d): 4.2 Seven (7) grams of roasted coffee is more nutritious than one (1) gram of instant coffee

14. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 4) Assumptions (cont’d): 4.3) The use of dried dilis usually results in a cheaper overall menu cost since it is richer than smoked fish in nutrients that are more often difficult to satisfy (energy, iron, niacin)

15. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 4) Assumptions (cont’d): 4.3) cont’d…

16. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 4) Assumptions (cont’d): 4.4) For equal weights of lakatan and latundan, the latter is richer only in niacin but is inferior/equal to lakatan in other nutrients.

17. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.1) For every food item in the reference menu, identify the cheapest variety/type in the province. 5.2) Select the case that applies depending on the price situation in the province. . . . . . . .

18. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

19. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

20. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

21. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

22. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

23. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

24. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure 5.3) Cont’d:

25. II. Guidelines in the Construction of Provincial Menus Specific Guidelines . . . 5) Step by step procedure (cont’d): 5.4) Using the cheapest menu arrived at in the previous step, replace latundan with lakatan and compute the resulting menu cost 5.5) If roasted is the cheaper coffee, then the cheaper menu in Step 5.4 is considered the final menu. Otherwise, using the cheaper menu in Step 5.4, replace instant coffee with roasted coffee and compute the resulting menu cost. Whichever menu is cheaper is considered the final menu.

26. III. Sample Results Cavite, proposed provincial menu

27. III. Sample Results Marinduque, proposed provincial menu

28. III. Sample Results Southern Leyte, proposed provincial menu

29. IV. Possible Sources of Overestimation/ Underestimation • Does not include cost of fuel (underestimation) • Use of one-day menu to represent consumption for the whole year (underestimation) • Does not consider the fact that the seven (7) grams of roasted coffee can be used many times (overestimation) • Use of uniform standard conversion from farmgate/wholesale price to retail price and vice versa (under/overestimation)

30. Thank You!