The Rice Agri-enterprises’ (RAEs) Predictors of Success

Purpose - The agriculture industry is one of the prolific industries which play a significant role in the Philippine economy. As an important sector of this industry, rice is a staple food for over half the world’s population. However, this sector has faced many challenges such as lack of support, rural to urban migration, limited education, quality of inputs, unsatisfactory price, and lack of facilities, indicators of the “business as usual mentality” of the rice farmers. The study takes off from the idea that rice farmers must treat their farms as enterprises to address those challenges and become successful rice agri-enterprises. Design/Methodology/Approach - The study used the Theory of Firm as its theoretical foundation. It employed a Resource-Based View (RBV) and Industrial Organization (I/O) approach to assess the internal and external aspects of the enterprise. The methods used to attain the objectives of this study are descriptive-causal procedure, self-constructed survey questionnaire, sample size identification using Slovin s formula, stratified, cluster and purposive sampling techniques, and ordinal logistic regression. Findings - Results of the study revealed that internal variables such as Accounting for Agriculture, Farm Management, Farm Value-Adding Activities and Marketing of Farm Output still need to be implemented all the time; also, external variables such as Buyer Factor, Competition, Economic Factor, Enablers, Political Factor, Technological Factor and Supplier Factor are still needed to be considered all the time. Results revealed Farm-Value Adding Activities, Accounting for Agriculture, and Supplier Factor as predictors of success for the Rice Agri-Enterprise. Thus, the application of these variables with a focus on the predictor variables may address the challenges cited in this study and are expected to contribute to the success of the Rice Agri-Enterprises in Region XI. Research Implications - The study results will help rice-agri enterprises become successful by applying the predictor variables for success. The results are recommended to be adopted by government agencies and prepare targeted activities supporting these enterprises. Also, Higher Education Institutions offering business courses can develop programs and prepare course materials wherein findings of this study are considered.