The Existence of Madura Local Food Commodity-Based Microbusinesses

The importance of the existence of a business is to survive and have competitiveness in the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic. The problem that is often faced by microbusiness in Bangkalan is that their strengths are less able to overcome weaknesses and threats. This study aims to determine the existence of microbusiness which will further produce strategic recommendations for survival. This research is through descriptive analysis, the variables studied are described. While qualitative analysis is used in assessing data sources, data reduction


INTRODUCTION
In Indonesia, microbusinesses play a crucial role, with 63 million business units employing 107 million workers (Naditya et al., 2013).Its rise has also proven to be the primary driver of the real sector, which influences economic growth at the domestic and international levels (Hadi et al., 2020).The existence of these microbusinesses demonstrates their resilience in the face of adversity, whereas many big businesses experience stagnation.The same thing also applies tomicro businessess in Bangkalan, which have contributed significantly to the Bangkalan people's economy.From 2012 to 2017, the number of micro businesses climbed from 111,290 to 145,202 (Triyasari, 2020).
However, the expansion in microbusinesses was not accompanied by an improvement in business quality.Limited mastery of technology and business management knowledge leads to a market share that is less extensive and less capable of enhancing business management effectively (Guntari et al., 2021).This condition leads to the existence and influence of microbusinesses receiving less response from the people around them, their products being less well-known and lacking a brand image, leading to a lack of consumer loyalty (Amri, 2020).
In the use of information technology to expand marketing through digital platforms, the majority is carried out by businesses in the fashion sub-sector at 38 percent, in the craft sub-sector at 34 percent, the service sub-sector at 8 percent, electronics and culinary agribusiness at 6 percent each, then automotive and gadgets each with 4 percent (Triyasari, 2019).In culinary agribusiness, the mastery of micro-business technology based on native Madurese food commodities lags behind other subsectors based on these data.
Existence is also affected by the use of very simple equipment; for instance, the technology for creating herbal medicine in Madura is still quite limited or does not use the proper technology.Herbal medicine microbusinesses are characterized by labor-intensive manufacturing, the use of modest equipment and procedures, production at home, and low wages for workers (Abdulkadir).There was an increase in product quantity and quality, as well as an increase in revenue, as a result of adjustments made to the production process through the use of appropriate technologies, partner involvement and activity increased by 75 percent (Rahardjanto et al., 2019).
The presence of microbusinesses influences the unemployment rate as well.It is known that the presence of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) may absorb a large number of workers, initially 99.8 million of the total current economic businesses.They can absorb a workforce of 60.4 million or 87.5 percent of total employment.It has not, however, been able to absorb the labor in Medan City fully.Due to the presence of MSMEs, they can absorb workers, lowering the degree of open unemployment in Medan City (Zahrah & Wijaya, 2019).
During the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a decline in income for MSME players, it is essential to sustain the magnitude of micro businesses' existence influence.According to research (Hadi et al., 2020) as many as 36.7 percent of MSMEs did not make sales as a result of the pandemic, and 26% witnessed a decline in income of more than 60 percent.However, only 3.6 percent of businesses saw an increase in sales.This condition results from the biggest obstacle encountered: as much as 56 percent of decreasing market demand, 22 percent of a lack of capital, and 15 percent of delays in raw material production (Kusumastuti, 2020).
Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the micro food and beverage business subsector saw a 27 percent impact.The impact on small food and beverage businesses was 1.77 percent, while the impact on medium businesses was 0.07 percent.In the wood and rattan crafts unit, micro businesses are at 17.03 percent.For small businesses in the wood and rattan handicraft sector, it is 1.77 percent, and for medium businesses is 0.01 percent.Meanwhile, household consumption will also be corrected between 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent (Daryanto et al., 2021).
Bangkalan's microbusinesses that sell food products made from Madura's local food commodity raw materials have decreased by up to 80% (Bangkalan Regional Secretariat, 2020).Aside from the pandemic, microbusiness owners' poor technology and business management knowledge have hindered market share and enhanced business management.Therefore, if there is an internal or external threat, they cannot deal with it because their strength is extremely limited (Goreti et al., 2020).
Research on the existence of microbusinesses during the Covid-19 pandemic has never been conducted in Bangkalan.Therefore, it was expected that this research would result in a strategic recommendation for the government to create MSME development programs, especially for microbusinesses in Bangkalan.During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has taken many measures to recover MSMEs, including the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program's business capital aid of IDR 2,400,000.However, this support was not optimal because it was insufficient to compensate for the losses incurred; and only 4,217 out of a total of 22,500 MSMEs received assistance from the Central Government in stage 1; the remainder had not been realized (Ezalia et al., 2020).
This research is novel in that it examines microbusinesses that focus on local Madurese food products and support the socio-economic development of Madurese farming families.By examining the aforementioned issues, the objectives of this research are 1) to analyze the factors that affect the existence of microbusinesses and 2) to formulate a plan for microbusinesses to survive.The prolonged Covid-19 pandemic has impacted not only the health sector, but also the economic and trade sectors.It is believed that these objectives could propose alternative methods for business actors.For businesses to survive, recover, and regain their foothold, business actors have no choice but to strive to adapt to these unexpected changes in circumstances.

RESEARCH METHODS
This study was conducted in Bangkalan with the participation of local Madurese food commodity-based micro business owners, with the selection of research locations based on three considerations.First, Madura is a hub for Akabi (a Variety of Beans and Tuber) commodities, specifically green beans, peanuts, and cassava (Balitkabi Madura).Second, it is a starting point for development and investment opportunities to boost Madura's economic growth, as it is the primary land connection between Madura Island and Java Island.Thirdly, previous researchers have never conducted a similar study in this area; hence, it was considered vital to perform this research.
The research was conducted between June and August 2020.The respondents were selected using a non-probability sampling technique called judgment sampling, and the sample was restricted to aspects that could provide information based on consideration.Judgment sampling techniques were selected based on time, cost, and effort, so big and distant samples cannot be collected (Retnawati, 2015).Based on the opinion of Roscoe in Sugiyono (2013) the minimum number of samples required for multivariate analysis research is ten times the number of variables analyzed, so 40 respondents were chosen in this study.
Primary data was collected through observations and interviews with microbusiness actors using a questionnaire as a guide.The primary data collected consisted of respondent identities, business assets, the number of consumer visits, turnover, income, and profits earned prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the types of products sold and government support received.
The first objective of this study was to be analyzed using the multiple linear regression method, which will analyze the factors that influence the existence of local Madurese food commodity-based microbusinesses with the following regression model: = Regulation e = Errors The second objective of this study was to analyze using the SWOT technique to generate recommendations for microbusinesses' survival strategies based on Madura's local food commodities.This analysis was predicated on the premise that an effective strategy would maximize business actors' strengths and opportunities while minimizing their weaknesses and threats.These simple assumptions can significantly impact the construction of a successful strategy and provide the information required to detect opportunities and risks inside a business actor's environment, provided they are applied appropriately.

Factors Influence the Existance of Microbusiness
The existence of microbusinesses in Bangkalan Regency in 2019 is demonstrated by the number of MSMEs (145,202), of which 135,465 are micro businesses.It is known that there are 948 units in the agricultural sector, and as many as 262 units are refocused on micro businesses that offer processed food products (Setda Bangkalan, 2020).Now, these micro businesses must be capable of surviving in the middle of a pandemic threat whose end date is unknown.Even if there are indications that these businesses are unlikely to have cash reserves on hand for operations, their businesses are in decline.Microbusiness owners are compelled to adapt, as it is a must (Safitri & Moertono, 2021).
The factor of decreased existence is influenced by consumer purchasing power, which has experienced pressure during the pandemic due to a number of factors, such as being a victim of layoff at work, reduced income due to the Large-scale social restrictions or LSSR (Indonesian: Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar or PSBB) policy, particularly for business actors, decreased buying interest in a particular product, and a greater inclination toward health products; as well as consumer concerns about the safety of micro business products which usually do not have high selling values such as products for medium businesses, and small and large industries (Sugiri, 2020).In addition, the influence of the product availability factor, which is extremely limited and even nonexistent, is the reason for the downfall of micro businesses.
The abovementioned factors are an obstacle since microbusinesses in Bangkalan rely solely on direct sales because they lack expertise in online sales media; this is a drawback of Bangkalan microbusinesses.Nevertheless, according to Mileva dan Fauzi (2018) in (Joseph et al., 2020) online sales supported by content creation will result in extremely significant purchasing decisions.In addition, regulation is a threat to micro businesses (Grondys et al., 2021), and has an impact on business development because it requires management efficiencies such as easy, inexpensive, and quick licensing through the implementation of One Stop Service (OSS) at the relevant office (Mudiarta, 2017).
On table 1 is explained the factors influence of microbusiness existance based on Madura local food commodity mathematically.Based on the results of the equation test that has been obtained, it is concluded that the equation model used is feasible to use because it can explain the effect of variables on the existence of microbusinesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic of 95.4% so that the influence of each exogenous variable on the endogenous variable will be explained as follows: 1.
Purchasing Power (X1) Purchasing power is the stage at which customers form a preference and then purchase a product or service that meets their needs and expectations (Kurniati & Dolorosa, 2020).According to Table 1, purchasing power has a significant effect on the existence of microbusinesses.This finding is supported by the purchasing power variable's significance value of 0.001 and the parameter estimation value of 6.267E-7.With a confidence level of 99.99%, this value shows that a one-unit rise in consumer purchasing power will increase the number of microbusinesses by 6.267E-7.
According to other case studies, other factors such as product quality, attractiveness, and pricing perceptions influence consumer purchasing power or buying interest.Based on this study, attractiveness is the factor that most determines consumer purchasing power (Bowen et al., 2009).According to research of Adinda et al. (2021), the majority of consumers are typically influenced by the attractiveness of well-known product brands when selecting a product.Other variables like discounts, advertising, and free gifts with the purchase of a variety of appealing products for consumers increase this decision.
In this case, microbusinesses in Bangkalan can create a strategy to boost the attractiveness of the products they sell.According to other studies, the company's performance began to decline significantly, as its turnover decreased by 20%.This situation is the result of decreasing consumption and public purchasing power.Public consumption and purchasing power have fallen due to the widespread unemployment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (Choirunisa et al., 2021).

2.
Product Availability (X2) Several factors affect the purchasing power of consumers.Product availability is one of them, making it easier for consumers to get the product they need or expect.Consumers will be more comfortable and satisfied when the product they need is easy to find, or the stock is available in a store.In this case, it indicates that product availability is the proper and fast manner to meet consumer demands and expectations easily (Sapitri et al., 2020).Supported by the result of research (Nasution, 2018) that there is a convenience effect on product purchasing decisions.The availability of sufficient and dispersed products makes it simpler for consumers to purchase and consume them.This condition is consistent with consumers' preferences, which place a premium on low pricing without sacrificing quality.
It is known that the parameter estimation value for product availability is 0.001 and has a significance of 0.000.This number demonstrates that the availability of products has a significant effect on the existence of microbusinesses.If product availability increases by one unit, the probability of its existence will increase by 0.001 with a confidence level of 100%.As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, 39.4% of microbusiness owners postponed production, while 57.1% continued production despite the decline.These results are consistent with research by (Retno Murni, 2019).The product availability variable has a positive and statistically significant effect on business continuity.The product availability variable's regression coefficient is 0.409, which means that if product availability rises by one unit, business continuity will increase by 0.409 3.

Regulation (X3)
In regulation, the parameter estimation value is -3.255E-6, and its significance is 0.464%.This figure implies that regulation and the presence of microbusinesses are inversely correlated.If regulations increase by one unit, the existence of microbusinesses will decrease by -3.255E-6 units, with a confidence level of 53.6%.As the minimum allowed level of significance is 85%, this level of significance shows that regulations have no statistically significant effect on the existence of microbusinesses.
These results contradict the opinion of Staschen (1999) in (Alyas, 2017) who states that regulation is required to ensure that the operationalization of microfinance institutions can run smoothly to provide mutual advantages.In the research, the regulations at issue are those pertaining to the existence of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (LSSR) regulations issued by regional governments, as well as regulations pertaining to the closure of several business sectors, including the tourism sector, during the Covid-19 pandemic since it will have an impact on manufacturing and sales activities due to lower sales and purchase transactions and a lack of primary raw materials.In addition, the LSSR or lockdown imposed by the government restricts the activities of millions of citizens, closes companies, and halts nearly all economic activities (Antara & Sumarniasih, 2022).
The things mentioned above significantly impact the existence of microbusinesses that rely heavily on the trading system directly on the market or face-to-face with consumers (Pakpahan, 2020).This regulation lowered consumer visits by 80% and profits by the same amount.According to research (Antara & Sumarniasih, 2022) economic conditions in Bali decreased by 9.31% in 2022 as a result of the implementation of the Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement or CARE (Indonesian: Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat, commonly known as the PPKM), which resulted in the arrival of foreign, domestic, and domestic tourists experiencing a decrease or even no visits.Therefore, policies and laws that may give assurance, legalization, defense, and empowerment are required so microbusinesses can continue to exist and develop as one of the pillars of the strengthening of the Indonesian economy.

Microbusiness Survival Strategy
The impact of the pandemic resulted in weakening people's purchasing power for non-primary processed food and beverage products because they prioritize health needs such as vitamins, masks, hand sanitizers, and medicines (Fabeil et al., 2020).Even people's purchasing power needs to have a stimulus from the government to promote economic turnover in purchasing activities (Syahrial, 2020).In the aspect of microbusiness, the existence of this pandemic has produced a weakening of performance from the demand side (purchasing power and level of public consumption) (International Labour Office, 2021).The following are the findings of research on the internal factors of microbusinesses in Bangkalan is explained on table 2. Source: Primary data processed, 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic presents the government with both a task and a chance to protect the existence of food commodity-based microbusinesses in Bangkalan.The obstacles experienced must be balanced with alternative short-term solutions so microbusinesses can be managed based on their strengths and prospects (Saturwa et al., 2021).According to research of Natasya & Hardiningsih (2021), regularly offering social assistance, tax incentives, and expanding working capital can help save businesses in an unstable economic environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.On the other hand, opportunities must have alternative long-term solutions because opportunities continue to undergo changes and developments in the period of industrial revolution 4.0, which is synonymous with the digitalization of economic activities.
Here are a number of short-term alternatives that microbusinesses can examine and even easily implement.First, microbusiness owners must adhere to stringent health protocols when conducting buying and selling activities.Second, defer payment of debts or credit to maintain financial stability due to decreased income.Lastly, get financial aid.This unstable scenario should be managed by using the capabilities and potential of microbusinesses in order to implement solutions for surviving market conditions that result in losses, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.The following are the results of the analysis of external factors affecting microbusinesses.According to the calculated results of the IFAS and EFAS matrices, the x and y axes' coordinates are -0.16 and -0.20. Figure 1 illustrates that superior commoditybased microbusinesses in Madura are located in quadrant IV, which denotes a weak organization that faces significant obstacles.This circumstance is unfavorable, since microbusinesses face various threats and internal weaknesses.As is common knowledge, Table 2 outlines the weaknesses of Madura's local food commoditybased microbusinesses, which are currently threatened by a national disaster, specifically the Covid-19 pandemic, which has destroyed the economy.
The alternative strategy of weakness threats (WT) serves as the foundation for the formulation of recommendations for microbusiness defensive tactics.The alternate strategy is to develop internal enhancements to bolster strengths to overcome weaknesses in the face of threats.In addition to enhancing internal aspects, microbusinesses must also collaborate with external parties to further increase market share and capital (Hadi et al., 2020).

Gambar 1. SWOT Diagram of Madura Local Food Commodity-Based Micro Business Survival Strategy
Based on the SWOT diagram in Figure 1, it is advised that a defensive strategy is an appropriate recommendation strategy.This strategy has an internal organizational dilemma, implying that the state of microbusinesses in Bangkalan involved in the food commodity sector is particularly precarious and is currently confronted by a substantial threat.Therefore, microbusinesses are recommended to strengthen, develop, and optimize the performance of internal strength factors and avoid threats while searching for opportunities to exploit so as not to fall further.The following are survival strategies microbusinesses can implement during the Covid-19 pandemic.1.
Not increasing the amount of production and product inventory Increasing the production and supply of products during this pandemic is a terrible idea, as these activities will be impeded in practice by government policies related to Large-Scale Social Restrictions (LSSR) and currently implementing regulations for the Implementation of the Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement (CARE).These regulations will likely make it more difficult for microbusiness owners to sell products that rely heavily on direct sales, and products stored for too long will be expired.
According to Rukmana and Sukanta's (2020) research, business actors can choose between two alternatives to prevent the cessation of production activities: increasing product selling prices while maintaining quality or not increasing product prices if the quality of the products provided declines from the previous period.However, this is impossible due to the pandemic that has reduced people's income.In a currently unfavourable situation, it is safer to produce or supply things consistently without expanding the quantity.

2.
Creating alternative income Focusing on a single business type is not a bad idea since it allows businesses to devote their full attention to developing that type.However, the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic can offer business risks, as there is no guarantee that stable income will continue to be generated.Microbusinesses need to generate alternate sources of income in order to maintain a sufficient level of revenue.Education is one factor that has a good impact on business development; thus, business actors must recognize opportunities and continue to learn (Bowen et al., 2009).
In addition to taking advantage of opportunities, diversifying business risks is necessary to avoid suffering catastrophic losses if one focuses on one type of business.There are numerous ways to generate alternative incomes, such as freezing processed foods to make them more durable and convenient for consumers.In addition, it can produce packages for things that are now needed by society, including, in addition to food products, health products such as herbs considered to improve health and immunity (Le et al., 2020).

3.
Creating alternative selling mechanisms Almost all microbusinesses in Bangkalan continue relying on the conventional direct sales system.To help a sales process that is suffering hurdles, business owners must improve their technological skills, particularly in online sales.Currently, online sales are very effective, efficient, and profitable due to the fact that they reduce distribution costs and can reach all types of consumers in any region, so businesses do not have to rely solely on conventional sales.It has been demonstrated that the usage of e-commerce for sales has a favorable and significant effect on MSME income (Vinberg & Danielsson, 2021).4.
Not expanding the business aggressively Microbusinesses should not expand their operations by opening branches, increasing their market share, penetrating new markets, or expanding their business networks to avoid bankruptcy (Sonobe et al., 2021).Owned business financial savings should be used to support existing operational activities to ensure business continuity.Losses and business failures will result if the growth is executed without implementing effective strategic management.
Strategic considerations, such as corporate-level strategy, company strategy, international strategy, and business strength, must be taken into account throughout expansion (Fabeil et al., 2020).During the Covid-19 pandemic, it will be challenging for microbusinesses not to expand; nonetheless, surviving and regaining revenue is currently of utmost importance.

5.
Partnering with banks for sources of financing, information, and business development Microbusinesses have the capacity to expand into large-scale businesses and even industries and have demonstrated endurance in the face of economic crises.The government must also foster the development of economic and financial institutions that are accessible to all segments of society, particularly microbusinesses.The proliferation of financial institutions that all segments of society may access is an essential requirement for accelerating the expansion and growth of microbusinesses (Saturwa et al., 2021).Among them are cooperatives, CU and BPR in particular.The Office of Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) can work with the local Tourism Office to enhance tourist visitation to revitalize microbusinesses in tourist zones.Since microbusinesses rely heavily on direct face-to-face sales, they are expected to remain constant as the number of tourists increases (Kiswantoro et al., 2020).