External food environment, availability, price, and retail practices dataset for Sechium edule (cidra papa or chayote) and Bactris gasipaes (chontaduro) in Palmira and Cartago, Colombia (2025)

This dataset documents the external food environment for Sechium edule (cidra papa or chayote) and Bactris gasipaes (chontaduro) in Palmira and Cartago (Valle del Cauca department), Colombia. The data were collected under the Power of Diversity Funding Facility (PDFF) project, implemented in Colombia by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The dataset captures information on the availability, seasonality, pricing, sourcing, marketing, and retail conditions of the focal crops across different food access points.

The dataset includes information on the type of food environment, type of food access point, respondent characteristics, outlet operation history, crop availability at the time of visit, reasons for non-availability, months of availability, varieties available, supplier sources, supplier agreements, purchase and selling prices, price variation across the year, common units of purchase and sale, estimated sale-unit weights, and usual quantities sold.

It also includes crop-specific information on product form, presentation, packaging, display and storage conditions, quality-related challenges, promotion strategies, policy and regulatory issues, sales channels, types and sources of market information, retailing costs, and challenges faced by vendors or responsible individuals at each access point. The data support analyses of crop availability, food access, seasonality, price variability, retail practices, value-chain relationships, and market constraints affecting Sechium edule (cidra papa) and Bactris gasipaes (chontaduro) within selected local food systems in Colombia.
Methodology:Data were collected through structured interviewer-administered surveys at food access points where Sechium edule (cidra papa) and Bactris gasipaes (chontaduro) were sold, distributed, prepared, accessed, or otherwise known to be available. Data collection took place from 6 December 2025 to 28 January 2026. The questionnaire was implemented as a digital XLSForm-compatible instrument and administered to respondents with suitable knowledge of the crop, its availability, prices, sourcing arrangements, and retail or access conditions at each location.

Food access points were identified using information from community mapping exercises conducted with consumers, in which participants identified locations where people obtain the two crops. These included places where the crops may be bought, collected, consumed as meals or snacks, or otherwise accessed. Some access points could be outside the immediate community when they represented relevant sources of the focal crops.

At each access point, GPS coordinates were recorded. Interviews were conducted with sellers, business owners, long-term staff members, depending on the type of access point. The questionnaire captured access-point characteristics, crop availability, seasonality, supplier relationships, price levels, price fluctuations, units of sale, quantities sold, product forms, packaging, display and storage conditions, quality challenges, promotion practices, policy and regulatory issues, information access, retail costs, and retailing constraints.

Prior to data collection, the study protocol and data-collection materials, including the questionnaire and written informed-consent form, were reviewed and approved through the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Institutional Review Board (IRB) process. Respondents were provided with the written informed-consent form and participated only after providing written consent.