Assessment of DOST [Department of Science and Technology] setup assistance on cooperatives in the CALABARZON [Cvite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon,] Region [Philippines]

Cooperatives are unique type of an enterprise that should balance the economic efficiency of their operation and social relevance to its members. In order to achieve economic efficiency, the cooperative should improve their production and the quality of their products through technological adoption. Through the assistance of the Department of Science and Technology, the cooperatives were able improve their productivity through purchase production equipment, improvement their packaging materials and subject their products in nutritional and shelf life studies. Five DOST [Department of Science and Technology] assisted cooperatives were assessed in the nutritional and shelf life studies. Five DOST assisted cooperatives were assessed in the study. The Pinagdanlayan RIC MPC was able subject their product with shelf-life and nutrient content analysis which is requirement to penetrate the market. Palcon Multipurpose Cooperative was able to shorten their milking time from 2 hours to 30 minutes because of the acquisition of a milking machine. Buklod-Unlad Multipurpose Cooperative was able to mechanize their meat processing which led to an increase of 44.44 in terms of volume of production. San Jose Workers Multipurpose Cooperative was able to acquire bakery equipment. Lastly, the Sampaloc Talisay Producers Cooperative was able to comply with food safety standards and increase their production due to the provision of stainless steel table and smokehouse. Generally, the cooperatives are highly satisfied with the assistance of features are acceptable. It is important to note however that the bidding for the purchase of equipment and penalty of 2% per month in case of late payments got the lowest acceptability rating. The bidding process takes a long time and there is an additional cost for the suppliers in bidding that will cause to increase their price. The cooperatives are highly satisfied with the assistance of DOST staff in different aspects and activities of the program.