A Comparative Study of Single and Multipurpose Cooperatives in Calamba, Laguna

Date

6-2018

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Melodee Marciana E. De Castro

Committee Member

Liezel S. Cruz, Faustino Q. Arrienda II, Agnes T. Banzon, Normito R. Zapata, Jr.

Abstract

Agribusiness cooperatives play an important role in the development of the local and national economy because it promotes cooperation and a collective effort within a community which may lead to sufficiency and efficiency in the country. As members of cooperatives, farmer-members with the same goal and needs are united together giving them wider opportunities to take advantage of economies of scale which they lack when operating individually. Hence, establishing a cooperative would be a viable solution to help the farmers fully utilize their lands.

This study focused on assessing four different agricultural cooperatives operating in Calamba, Laguna namely: Barangay Looc Producers Cooperative (BLPC), Calamba Upland Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CUFAMCO), Calamba Rice Growers Multi- Purpose Cooperative (CRGMPC) and Calamba Vegetable Growers Marketing Cooperative (CVGMC). In this case, the aforementioned cooperatives can help in boosting agriculture in Calamba, as well as the country as a whole, through mobilizing resources and helping member to uplift their current situation.

Furthermore, this study aimed to compare the performance of single-purpose cooperatives (SPC) and multi-purpose cooperatives (MPC) in Calamba, Laguna. Specifically, it intended to describe the prevailing external and internal environmental factors affecting the agribusiness cooperatives in Calamba; identify the issues and challenges of the cooperatives in terms of marketing, personnel, production and financial management; determine the difference between the performance of single-purpose and multi-purpose cooperatives in terms of the four business functions; assess the key success factors present in single-purpose and multi-purpose cooperatives; and formulate recommendation to address the identified issues and problems.

Calamba is the most populous city in Laguna with a population of 454, 486 which is 15% of the total population of the province. It has a total land area of 14, 950 hectares wherein 1, 427 hectares are used in agricultural development (City Government of Calamba, 2015). Crops grown in Calamba can be classified into four groups: vegetable, fruits, root crops and rice. Because of these, most of the agribusiness cooperatives have rice, corn and vegetables as their main products.

BLPC is located in Looc, Calamba with pickled papaya and peanut butter as their main products. It was established on 2016 and currently having 33 members. The cooperative helps its members by providing the inputs needed in production. On the hand, CVGMC, located in Sampiruhan, Calmba having 80 farmer-members was established on 2013. Vegetables like eggplants and tomatoes are their main product. The cooperative offers input loan and land preparation services to the members. Both of them are single-purpose cooperatives. The quality of their products is inconsistent because of inconsistent input quality. Production is also irregular due to low participation of members and partial participation of officers. Members are not willing to attend trainings and seminars, even the mandated ones. The cooperatives were unable to consolidate the products which resulted to independent selling and marketing of products of the members. In terms of financing, both of them do not barrow money to bank because they are afraid of the high interest rates. They also receiving support from the government however, based on key informant interview, both of the cooperative receives insufficient support.

CUFAMCO which is located in Bunggo, Calamba started operating on 2010. As of now, they have 260 members. The cooperative’s main product is corn but they also process their own products to add value to it like producing charcoal briquettes from corn cobs and also producing corn feeds with different sizes. Lastly is the CRGMPC in San Jose, Calamba. It was established one year ahead of CUFAMCO. The cooperative’s main product is rice but they also offer agricultural inputs and groceries to members and non- members in their cooperative store. Both of the cooperatives are multi- purpose cooperatives that help members by lending agricultural inputs and also offering credit services and also services from land preparation up to harvesting. They also help their members in marketing their products by consolidating the harvested corn and rice. Both of them finance their cooperative through lending from government units. They also receive support from government through grants like machines and tractors. Both have high member and officer participation and commitment where in according to KII, continuous trainings and seminars had a big impact on the mindset of members because they understand the cooperative more.

MPC had an overall satisfaction rating of 4.89 on the four business function while SPC have 4.41. All of the cooperatives got a highly satisfied rating but it was found that MPCs are performing better than SPCs in all of the four business function especially in production and personnel management. However, SPCs poorly performed in marketing and personnel management.

There are eight key success factors identified in the study which are integration, avail of professional services, member motivation, member satisfaction, member commitment, effective communication, material development and external support. MPC members are highly satisfied with the presence of key success factors in their cooperatives having a rating of 4.78 compared to 4.09 of SPC which is just equivalent to satisfied rating. MPC have higher ratings compared to SPC especially in terms of member commitment, integration and external support.

Based on the factors affecting the cooperatives, various recommendations for the cooperative officers, staffs and BOD, government and training and seminar facilitators were recommended. Cooperative officers, staffs and BOD are recommended to take continuous trainings and seminars to understand their tasks more. They should also learn how to keep members motivated and committed. It was also recommended to facilitators of trainings and seminars to adjust their discussion to enable a more interactive environment and also to ensure that it is understandable and relatable noting that some of the attendees cannot read and write. Cooperatives especially SPCs should also try to borrowing money from institutions offering low interest rates to allow them invest on more advanced and productive facilities and equipments. Marketing of products should be consolidated to lessen the burden from the members and also to ensure buyers of the products. Lastly is that, government should also try focusing in helping smaller and start- up cooperatives because they are the ones who need external support the most.

Language

English

LC Subject

Cooperative societies--Research

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2017 M17 C36

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