Different Tests for the Existence of Agricultural Cooperatives in Indonesia: Before and After COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has damaged the Indonesian economic system from various sectors. The sustainability of economic sectors, such as agriculture, becomes risky if not handled seriously by the Government. Cooperatives in Indonesia have become the heart of their members (especially farmers) who are highly dependent on agricultural productivity activities (production, distribution, marketing, and capital or equipment assistance). With these considerations, the purpose of this study is to discuss the extent to which the existence of Agricultural Cooperatives based on 4 variables (Number of Cooperatives, Members, Assets, and Business Volume) before and after COVID-19 takes place. Our study object focuses on 34 provinces in Indonesia during the 2019-2020 period. With this panel data, the study used a Difference Test analysis model through 2 presentations (Levene's Test for Equality of Variances and T-test for Equality of Means). From this study, it can be concluded that Assets and Business Volume are simultaneously significantly affected by COVID-19. As additional information, the results also explain that assets are an important component for the existence of agricultural cooperatives because partially they have a systematic impact compared to other variables. The value of the originality of this study has been proven in the novelty of objects, analysis models, data, and test results that have never been done by other researchers, so it is very interesting to be a reference in the future