Effects of the Pandemic and Adaptation Strategies of Processed-Ube (Discorea alata) Enterprises in San Pablo City, Laguna

Date

6-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Dinah Pura T. Depositario

Committee Member

Eliza C. Aquino, Maria Noriza Q. Herrera, Mar B. Cruz

Abstract

San Pablo is well-known not just among residents but also among tourists from neighboring towns and provinces for its processed-ube products, particularly the ube halaya. Demand has been increasing over the years. However, the situation has radically changed, attributable mostly to the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in March 2020. This worldwide health crisis impacted a variety of problems in agriculture and MSME sectors including the processed-ube enterprises in San Pablo City, Laguna. Travel bans and limitations on face-to-face transactions had adversely reversed the increasing demand of processed ube products.

This research was conducted specifically to analyze the effects of the pandemic and adaptation strategies implemented by the processed-ube enterprises in San Pablo City. It presented the profile of the processed-ube enterprises in San Pablo City, Laguna. The business operations of the processed-ube enterprises before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were described. The problems and issues of San Pablo City’s processed ube enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic were determined. On top of that, the adaptation strategies the ube enterprises utilized to respond to challenges brought upon by the pandemic were analyzed. The personal entrepreneurial competencies of the business owners and the possible sources for organizational resilience were related to the adaptation strategies employed by the enterprises. Lastly, adaptation strategies were recommended to enable ube and other processing enterprises to achieve organizational resiliency.

The study used a descriptive method in analyzing the effects of the pandemic and adaptation strategies of the 17 identified processed-ube enterprises in San Pablo city. The official list of registered processed ube enterprises has been acquired from Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) San Pablo. A complete enumeration of the names of enterprises listed was used in the research. Consent was asked from each enterprise for their participation and a self-administered questionnaire was given to them to answer. The contents of the questionnaire are the socio-demographic profile and background of the entrepreneur and their business, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on various business functions, adaptation strategies, and personal entrepreneurial competencies. A comparison of the business operations of the ube enterprises in San Pablo, Laguna before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Frequency analysis and means were employed for data analysis.

Regarding the profile of the enterprise, out of 17 that were included in the study, the majority (76.47%) started operating before the pandemic and the minority (23.53%) started to operate when the pandemic happened. According to the number of employees, 16 enterprises were classified as micro enterprises while only 1 enterprise was categorized as a small enterprise. All 17 enterprises are accredited but the majority of them were accredited to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Almost all enterprises have single proprietorship type of ownership except for one which is owned in partnership. Majority of the processed-ube enterprises owned the place of their store. Almost all enterprises used their savings as the main source for the capital of their business. It was found out that the average age of the business owners was 48 and majority of them were married. About half of them were college graduates. The main reason why the entrepreneurs entered the business was due to the higher monetary reward in owning an ube processing enterprise.

Overall, the pandemic had a significant impact on processed-ube enterprises in San Pablo, Laguna. The top challenges faced by the businesses are 1) the uncertainty of not knowing when the pandemic ends; 2) difficulty in acquiring raw materials; 3) reduced demand for their products/services; 4) and difficulty in delivering products to the customers. Of all the business functions, operations were the most affected as the enterprises were forced to temporarily halt their business as a result of travel restrictions imposed by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. However, once restrictions were lifted, the enterprises were able to operate again. This is when the 4 enterprises entered the industry and started to compete with the 13 enterprises that continued operating. Marketing had the most significant change as enterprises started to incorporate the use of digital platforms for promotional and transactional activities.

To counter the negative effects of the pandemic, the enterprises employed varying adaptation strategies. The study revealed that the entrepreneurs employed several tactics, including 1) modifying prices in response to higher input costs; 2) using digital platforms to reduce physical transactions; 3) utilizing online platforms to promote their offerings; 4) introducing new products to boost revenue; 5) optimizing operations to minimize waste and match demand with supply; 6) optimizing their time to manage the business, and maintaining cash reserves. The majority (82.35%) of processed-ube enterprises implemented a unique combination of these adaptation strategies during the pandemic.

The performance of the processed-ube entrepreneurs was evaluated by taking into account their entrepreneur's sex and age. Although preliminary findings indicate that women often do better in sales than men, other factors may play a role in these findings. Furthermore, it is impossible to draw firm conclusions about the influence of age on sales success due to the dispersed nature of the data. The association between sex, age, and sales success has to be studied in greater detail using a wider variety of factors.

All 17 processed-ube businesses that used any strategy performed well based on their PEC scores, and some businesses that did not adopt that strategy also scored well in the 10 competencies. So, it can be inferred that a high personal entrepreneurial skill score does not ensure that the entrepreneur would use a successful adaptation method. Adaptation strategies were also linked to the sources of organizational resilience, and these were access to financial resources, digitization level, supply chain (SC) collaboration, SC flexibility, and innovativeness.

Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were developed to give further options for adapting to the effects of the pandemic. Ube processors in the city rely on outsourcing from neighboring provinces, increasing costs. Hence, it is recommended to maximize production that could benefit both farmers and processors by increasing profits and reducing input costs. It is recommended for the processed-ube enterprises to delve deeper into digital platforms as it can have other uses besides for promotion and cashless transactions. It is also recommended that the enterprises to strengthen the collaboration among the players within the sector. Expanding the product offerings of ube processors beyond the current options is also recommended as it can provide benefits such as increased flexibility, reduced risk, access to new customer segments, and the ability to capitalize on changing market trends. It is also recommended to enter in collaborative partnerships with institutions like IFST in UPLB. Lastly, it is recommended that the enterprises develop business continuity plans.

Language

English

LC Subject

Selling—Crops, COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2023 M17 D454

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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