The Impact of Online Communities on Improving Farmers' Productivities

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K14923
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 41010:Agricultural and food economics-related
• Research Institution: Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
• Principal Investigator: Lee Guenwoo 国立研究開発法人国際農林水産業研究センター, 社会科学領域, 任期付研究員 (80836643)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: インドネシア / エビ養殖 / オンライン実践コミュニティ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

From 2021 to 2023, household surveys were conducted three times (twice since the start of receiving Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists) with 243 users of Online Community of Practice (OCoP) and 1,331 non-users among approximately 110,000 Indonesian shrimp farmers. Using the data obtained from these surveys, our analysis revealed that despite the ongoing pandemic, Indonesian shrimp farmers still rely on their neighbors as their primary source of farming information, with OCoPs being used only as a supplementary source. Additionally, an analysis of the differences in technology adoption among farmers with different farming methods showed that extensive farmers, who primarily rely on traditional methods, are not influenced by OCoPs in adopting new technologies or changing their behavior. In contrast, intensive farmers, who require more advanced information, benefit from the diverse information available through OCoPs, which has been shown to promote the adoption of new technologies.

Free Research Field

開発経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、IT技術の普及による農家間の情報共有の変化を考慮し、今後の効果的な農業情報・技術の普及方法を検討する上での貴重な知見を提供する。また、オンライン実践コミュニティの利用がもたらす便益を実証的に明らかにすることで、農業における情報伝達の新しい形態を学術的に解明する。これにより、農家の技術採用や生産性向上に向けた具体的な方策を示し、学術的意義がある。さらに、この実証分析の結果から、SDGsの達成に向けた政策的含意を引き出すことができ、1. 貧困をなくそう、12. つくる責任、つかう責任、15. 陸の豊かさも守ろうといった目標に対する貢献が期待され、社会的意義も大きいと考えられる。