Awareness, Attitudes, and Intentions of Farmer Association Members Towards Establishing an Agricultural Cooperative

Date

5-2024

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Melodee Marciana E. De Castro

Committee Member

Rachelle A. Mariano, Paul Kenneth B. Maghirang

Abstract

Attitudes pertain to a way of thinking of a person about a specific concern. Awareness relates to one’s knowledge or perception of a situation. From that, attitudes and awareness shapes an individual’s intention on a given interest. So, understanding and evaluating the attitudes, awareness and intentions of the farmer association members on agricultural cooperatives is important as agricultural cooperatives are enterprises that empower small-scale groups such as farmers driving them towards development.

Moreover, the study site is Municipality of Rizal, Laguna, a fifth-class town and one of the poorest towns in the province of Laguna, despite being a predominantly agricultural municipality. Despite the importance of agriculture in the municipality, there is a lack of comprehensive research or documentation addressing its current status. So, this study is intended to contribute to the current gap and provide relevant findings to help the agricultural community of Rizal.

The general objective of this study was to assess the attitudes, awareness and intentions of farmer association members establishing an agricultural cooperative. Specifically, this study aimed to (1) present the socio-demographic and farm profiles of the members of the farmer associations; (2) describe the the level of awareness of the farmer association members on cooperatives; (3) assess the attitudes of the farmer association members towards their farmer associations and the agency problems of the farmer association within their organization; (4) evaluate the intentions of the farmer association members on joining a cooperative; (5) determine the factors affecting the level of awareness of the farmer association members towards cooperatives; (6) and formulate recommendations to improve the attitudes and awareness of the farmer association members.

In this study, the researcher conducted on-site interviews with 63 respondents that were selected using convenience sampling, and were interviewed one-on-one to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. Spearman's rank correlation was used to analyze the quantitative data to determine the association between the level of awareness of the farmer association members and their socio-demographic characteristics. Meanwhile, content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data that was obtained through one-on-one interviews with the representatives of the five farmer associations regarding the members' attitudes towards farmer associations and the agency problems within their associations.

The socio-demographic characteristics of the farmer association members have approximately balanced distributions in the proportion of male and female farmers.In addition, Farmers aging from 31 to 40 had the highest frequency, accounting for 28.6% of the total population. Majority of the respondents are highschool graduates, had no other sources of income except for the farm income and, currently have four (4) members per household.

In terms of farm profile, the average farming experience of the respondents is 24.31 years. A significant number of respondents have less than or equal to 1 hectare of land from which more than half of the respondents are tenants or lessees only. The most common support that the farmers receive from the LGU is free supply of input, seminars and supplemental knowledge about their crops.

Moving on, the survey revealed that farmers generally have awareness of cooperatives and their key components such as purpose, service, and membership. While some were unfamiliar with the various types of cooperatives, the majority showed a positive perception of cooperatives. Most respondents expressed interest in joining cooperatives and would recommend them to others, although a few cited lack of knowledge and financial capability as barriers to participation. Overall, the findings suggest that farmers possess a favorable level of knowledge and intention towards cooperatives.

The results from Spearman’s rank correlation with regards to factors associated with the level of awareness of the farmer association members towards the three components of cooperatives (purpose, service, and membership) had statistically manifested several factors. Educational attainment and membership in the association were proven to be associated with the awareness of the members in terms of the purpose of cooperatives and the services offered by the cooperatives. Meanwhile, other sources of income, farmland size, and membership in the association were found to be associated with the members’ awareness of cooperatives in terms of membership in the cooperatives.

On the other hand, members’ attitude towards their respective farmer associations, the majority of the farmer associations were established to serve the needs of the farmers. These farmer associations consisted of farmers who reside in the same barangay, who are commonly blood-related, neighbors and acquainted with each other. With that, the members, along with the officers, work together to effectively serve the interest of the farmers. With regards to commitment to the association, all of the farmer associations emphasized that the members have the largest influence on decisions within their group. From then, this democratic process positively impacts their economic situations in a way that the farmers can maximize their input and knowledge that they gain from collaborating with their co-farmers or co-members of association. Generally, the associations conduct formal elections for them to have people that will lead and manage the organization. But for some, due to the limited number of members, the set of officers were just appointed to their position. In order to strengthen the sense of community among the members of the associations, the administration exerts its best effort to serve the ideals and foster camaraderie among its members. Moreover, in terms of trust within the association, the administrations put utmost importance to the inputs and concerns of the members in decision making. It also highlighted the importance of transparency and accountability with regards to the actions and decisions of the association. In line with this, it also pointed out the significance of being unbiased and not granting special treatment to members to avoid misunderstandings.

In terms of agency problems within the farmer associations, the farmer associations pointed out several concerns regarding the operation of the association as a whole. First, absenteeism due to other obligations is one of the common problems of the associations, it was implied that participation of the members are encouraged to strengthen the democratic process of the group, however, there are instances where they cannot avoid encountering absenteeism among its members. Male dominance in officer roles burdens female officers is another issue, and in line with that, disobedient members are also one of the association’s concerns. Fortunately, some of the associations do not have any problem within the organizations and their operations are smooth as its members fully cooperate with their leaders.

Moreover, with regards to the intention of the farmer association members on joining a cooperative, majority of the respondents agreed that they view cooperatives favorably and if given a chance, they are willing to join a cooperative. Also, a significant portion of the members responded that they would recommend cooperatives to their family, friends and co-famers.

Members of farmer associations view cooperatives positively, recognizing their benefits and potential. However, there are concerns about agency problems, such as the appointment of leaders instead of democratic elections. Disagreements, absenteeism, and regulatory challenges add further complexity to the idea of forming cooperatives. Additionally, the financial and administrative responsibilities of cooperative membership make the transition daunting. Overall, while there is interest and awareness, farmer associations seem unprepared for the complexities of forming agricultural cooperatives.

Given the concerns by the farmers, it is recommended that farmers are encouraged to prioritize their obligations in the farmer associations. The farmers should cooperate with their elected representatives to further foster a cohesive relationship between the association and the members itself. Even so, it is suggested for the members to further deepen their knowledge about how it would be beneficial for them to be a member of one. The local government should organize seminars and programs to educate farmers about the advantages of forming cooperatives. Additionally, they should advocate for policies and initiatives that facilitate cooperative establishment, such as improving market access and providing credit opportunities.

Language

English

LC Subject

Agriculture, Cooperative, Farmers, Social groups

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2024 M17 C37

Notes

Viewing access to electronic resources is restricted solely to UP Gmail accounts. Any access and share requests from external organizations and personal email accounts will be promptly declined.

Document Type

Thesis

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS