Self-reported competency gaps of farmer-incubatees in Philippine agribusiness cooperatives: evidence to inform a preliminary competency-based training framework

This study examined self-reported competency gaps among farmer-incubatees of Department of Agriculture-supported agribusiness cooperatives in Region IV-A, Philippines, participating in the Accelerated Research-Based Agribusiness for New and Growing Agripreneurs through Knowledgeable, Aggressive, and Dynamic Approach (ARANGKADA) Technology Business Incubation program. It aimed to inform the development of a competency-based training framework. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, survey data from 127 farmer-incubatees were integrated with findings from 16 key informant interviews through a joint display. Competency was assessed using a four-point scale from Beginner to Expert across management, marketing, financial, and operational domains, with lower ratings interpreted as training needs rather than objective performance deficits. Composite means ranged from 1.83 to 2.20, indicating Basic competency across all domains. Group differences by age, sex, educational attainment, business size, ownership type, and length of business operation were analyzed using independent-samples t -tests, Welch's analysis of variance, Games–Howell post hoc tests, effect sizes, and Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate correction. After adjustment, educational attainment, ownership type, and age were significantly associated with competency across all domains. Length of business operation was significant in all domains except financial competency, while no significant sex differences emerged. Qualitative findings identified six recurring constraints, including regulatory uncertainty, inconsistent product quality, weak cooperative participation, and limited resources, which aligned with the lowest-rated competencies. The integrated findings support a differentiated, evidence-informed four-module training framework tailored to educational background and enterprise arrangement. Given the self-reported, cross-sectional design, the findings indicate associations rather than causal relationships.