Lipa Beekeepers Marketing Cooperative : A Case Study

Date

12-2019

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jeanette Angeline B. Madamba

Committee Member

Romel Carlos, Renen Szilardo C. De Guzman, Normito R. Zapata, Jr., Agnes T. Banzon

Abstract

Not a lot of studies has been conducted regarding the status and problems of the beekeeping industry amidst a changing business environment. This is the gap that the researcher wants to fill given that the government does not give much attention to this industry relative to other forms of livestock such as poultry and swine. An organization known as the Lipa Beekeepers Marketing Cooperative (LBMC) was the main focus of this study and was composed of local beekeepers who raise different species of bees. A majority of them raise European honeybee (Apis mellifera) while some are venturing into native honeybee (Apis cerana) and stingless bee (Tetragonula spp.) or “lukot.” The cooperative aimed to be responsible in the marketing of the members’ products such as honey, wax, pollen, honey cider, vinegar and in facilitating the procurement of beekeeping materials and supplies for its members. Likewise, LBMC coordinates training activities and technical assistance which are extended to its members. Its main objective was to establish an alternative source of income to its members through beekeeping and provide members with continuing bee education, bee services and bee livelihood programs.

The general objective of the research was to determine and analyze the status of the Lipa Beekeepers Marketing Cooperative (LBMC). The research also intended to review and assess the current and previous years’ performance of the Lipa Beekeepers Marketing Cooperative and its members; evaluate critical issues/ problems faced by the cooperative; analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the cooperative, present strategic solutions to identified problems and; recommend a strategy among the available options to improve how the cooperative is managed.

The research utilized a descriptive type of research design to answer through analysis the stated problems of the study and accomplish its objectives. The study employed complete enumeration of its respondents. In order to facilitate data collection, personal interviews guided by a questionnaire was used. However, only 20 out of the 25 active members of the cooperative were available during the time of data gathering and consented to be interviewed.

To describe the socio-economic profile of the members of the cooperative, descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, frequency count was used. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats were identified from factors within the environment. Moreover, the relationships between variables were analyzed using the analytical framework adapted from Bondad (2007) as a guide for the study. The financial aspect was determined through financial ratio analysis using the financial statements to evaluate the profitability and performance of the organization.

For the problem identification, the problem recognized in the marketing aspect is the low supply of hive products and so the cooperative had the inability to market the harvested hive products of its members. Furthermore, this purpose was not well established. Thus, the members were not able to give their part of the produce to the cooperative for selling, instead, they sell their products at their own price, and using their own branding and packaging. In addition, the problem recognized in the operations aspect is that the only thing left in the cooperative’s operation is the seminars and trainings conducted on basic beekeeping of Apis mellifera and stingless bees. The availability of resources such as the queen bee, the forage area from which nectar can be obtained, the knowledge and skill of the beekeeper, pest and disease management was also determined as a major factor contributing to this problem.

As for the personnel aspect, there are a total of 45 members of the cooperative but only 25 of them are in good standing. Regarding membership, only residents of the province of Batangas and those who are raising at least two colonies of honeybees are allowed to join the cooperative, according to the by-laws of LBMC.

For the financial aspect, the cooperative does not have much funds to spend given that almost half of their members were not able to pay their share of stock to the cooperative. Thus, the cooperative’s leaders have to think of other income streams to be able to survive and operate well in the industry.

With this, the question that the study wants to answer, is, “How should Lipa Beekeepers Marketing Cooperative strategically manage its operations to carry out its purpose of providing a sustainable livelihood?” The alternatives formulated based on the SWOT analysis were: to continue being a marketing cooperative and diversify product offerings, continue being a marketing cooperative but expand, and discontinue operations and continue beekeeping individually. Based on the evaluation, the decision was to continue its operations of being a marketing cooperative offering diversified products. However, they should refine their vision, mission and goals to set their overall direction and would redefine their purpose and existence as a cooperative.

A proposed strategic direction was also formulated to improve strategic management of the cooperative. Competitive advantages were determined and the vision, mission and goals were revised to provide a specific direction for the cooperative.

As for the recommendations for the business functional areas, the cooperative may consider improving branding and packaging to effectively market their products, do backward integration to be able to supply inputs to their members, do value-addition to generate more income, amend their by-laws to enable effective management, and transition to a multi-purpose cooperative in the long run to be flexible in the business offerings of other products or services that may or may not be related to beekeeping and thus generate more income.

Language

English

LC Subject

Bee culture, Marketing cooperatives

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2019 M17 C38

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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