Sustaining an agrarian reform cooperative in Santa, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Abstract

The most effective socio-economic organizations established in the agrarian reform communities (ARCs) are the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) organizations or cooperatives as autonomous organizations, and potent force for the economic and social betterment of all its members based on self-reliance and selfmanagement. This research was focused on the sustainability of Paraiso Multi-Purpose Cooperative as an agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO) in Paraiso ARC. It considered 184 sample-member respondents from the poblacion, highway and island barangays of Santa, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, determined through stratified random sampling. It revealed that almost all the respondents are Roman Catholic while most of them are engaged in farming, married and are not members of another cooperative aside from their present membership; all the indicators of organizational capability of the ARB organization as leadership, management, financial, and physical are on the “very good” level; the implementation of business operations of the ARB organization is on the “very good” level; the sustainability of the ARB organization is on the “very good” level; Management and physical capability of the ARB organization influence its level of implementation of business operations; and the level of implementation of business operations of the ARB organization influences its level of sustainability.