A Comparative Study of Resilience in Selected Agritourism Farms in Laguna in the Midst of Business Disruptions during the Pandemic

Date

6-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Glenn Navarra Baticados

Committee Member

Jeanette Angeline B. Madamba, Juan Paulino S. Trespalacio, Junior, Mar B. Cruz

Abstract

Agritourism has paved its way to the Philippines more than twenty years ago upon the conception of the Philippine Tourism Master Plan, a project that promotes an environmentally sustainable tourism. The industry strengthened through the implementation of the Republic Act No. 10816 or An Act Providing for the Development and Promotion of Farm Tourism in the Philippines which promoted the collaboration between agriculture and tourism. From there, the inherent benefits of agritourism did not only manifest within the industry but also reflected in other sectors. As agritourism tied agriculture-related activities such as cultivation and farming, harvesting, processing, and tending to livestock and animals with educational tours, training, and accommodation, engagement with visitors increased.

With that, agritourism encouraged local employment and business opportunities, enrichment of natural resources, and the preservation of rural landscapes. At present, the Philippines is among the list of globally known tourism destinations making it an attractive and profitable industry for the country. How ever, the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the industry. Like any other businesses, no one was prepared for the pandemic including the agritourism farms that endured lockdowns and quarantine which prevented the farms to extend their main product and services-the first-hand farm experience and food offerings.

According to Zhang et al. (2021), no other sector was swooned as critically as the tourism and hospitality industry. This is because agritourism incurs losses that cannot be recovered as it offers services and accommodation that unlike products, cannot be sold in the future (Gossling et al., as cited by Wojcieszak-Zbierska et al., 2020). It resulted to business disruptions such as food supply chains disruptions, challenges in food security, and global economics shock and decline.

Despite all of this, there are standing agritourism sites today that displayed resiliency. The business models together with the strengths and weaknesses of the four selected agritourism farms in Laguna were studied in this paper. These agritourism farms that showed resilience are Costales Nature Farms, Daang Hari Campgrounds Agritourism Park, and Vonwelt Nature Farm. The general environment was assessed along with the business disruptions that these farms suffered from during the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigating the problems they faced and the ways by which they were able to cope despite the disaster brought by the pandemic contribute valuable insights and knowledge to the study and resiliency. The crisis management strategies of the farms were thoroughly examine and comparative analysis was utilized to extract and collate the best and notable strategies on resilience.

The findings of the study suggest that the top strategies employed by the agrotourism farms are Diversification and Innovation, Business Pivot, and Cost-Cutting. To cope with the disruptions, diversification of offering can be implemented. This has been performed by all of the four farms with activities such as value-adding, product development, increasing marketing and promotional channels, and farm expansion and facility development. Another notable resilience strategy is business pivoting. Business Pivot practices that worked for the farms include repurposing their amenities, a shift in the product offering, and shifting the use of resources. As for the cost-cutting strategies, downsizing was the prominent practice.

For start-up companies, Diversification and Innovation has greatly contributed to their coping strategies specially diversifying the products and services, and expanding their farm facilities in order to gain competitive advantage. This has also been true for farm schools as the farm school training was a significant contributor to their recovery. Moreover, Business Pivot is the leading strategy for medium-scale farms which is applied through repurposing acquired properties and assets, reallocating and maximizing their resources. These strategies fostered resiliency, adaptability, and helped towards the achievement of business continuity.

Language

English

LC Subject

Agritourism, Farms, COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2023 M17 E84

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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