Small farmers, big tech: agrarian commerce and knowledge on Myanmar Facebook

Faxon, Hilary Oliva

doi:10.1007/s10460-023-10446-2

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Before the coup, Facebook pages and groups bustled with agricultural news, advice, and advertising (Faxon, forthcoming). Photos were by far the most common type of post; our dataset was awash with colorful images of orchids, okra, tractors, and trade.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic online politics: Farmers, Facebook, and Myanmar's military coup

et al. 2023

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Despite perennial hope in the democratic possibilities of the internet, the rise of digital authoritarianism threatens online and offline freedom across much of the world. Yet while critical data studies has expanded its geographic focus, limited work to date has examined digital mobilization in the agrarian communities that comprise much of the Global South. This article advances the concept of “organic online politics,” to demonstrate how digital mobilization grows from specific rural conditions, material concerns, and repertoires of resistance, within the constraints of authoritarian violence and internet control. To do so, we examine social media interaction in the wake of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, an agrarian nation with recent, rapid digital connection that corresponded with a decade-long democratic turn. Analyzing an original archive of over 2000 Facebook posts collected from popular farming pages and groups, we find a massive drop-off in online activity after the military coup and analyze the shifting temporalities of digital mobilization. Crucially, we highlight the embeddedness of online interaction within the material concerns of farming communities, examining how social media become a key forum for negotiating political crisis in Myanmar's countryside. These findings call attention to rural digital subcultures as fertile sites of investigation and point toward the need for future scholarship on data practices that attends to rooted agrarian struggles.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic online politics: Farmers, Facebook, and Myanmar's military coup

et al. 2023

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“…A second PubMed search for "digital literacy" and "food systems" resulted in only one new (2023) study on the multi-faceted role that Facebook has played in strengthening how small farmers in Myanmar do business (Faxon, 2023). While this work was funded through a grant from "Facebook Research on digital literacy, demographics and misinformation in Myanmar, " digital literacy, or literacy alone, is not mentioned in the body of the text itself (Faxon, 2023). These studies suggest that food systems actors can benefit from ICT use through online videos, apps, and different social media platforms that greater digital literacy can help facilitate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pilot study of a digital literacy-based intervention to confront concomitant crises amongst key food system actors in Chile

Kanter,

Boza,

Acuña-Salazar

2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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IntroductionThe fragility of food systems in Chile has been exposed through concomitant crises, from a social crisis in 2019 to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing climate change. There is an increased dependence on information and communication technologies (ICTs) to produce, sell, and consume food and the digital divide has increased. The lack of digital literacy in Chile has not been evaluated or considered within comprehensive interventions.MethodsTo examine how local food systems can be strengthened, we conducted a pilot study of a digital literacy-based intervention with smallholder farmers, vendors, and consumers (n = 96) of different age groups (25–45 y, and 46–65 y) from adjacent urban and rural regions in Chile. Telephone surveys were carried out on the use of ICTs, access to the food environment, and agricultural practices during crises. A 5-week digital literacy intervention was carried out on digital confidence, the use of ICTs to generate networks, networks, the use of apps to sell or buy food, banking operations, and communication with state agencies. We also planned a virtual conversation about the food system and nutrition in Chile.ResultsAll participants knew how to read and send WhatsApp messages but >50% of farmers and vendors reported cell signal problems. Between the 2019 social crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, supermarkets as the main source of food decreased from 79 to 57%, and delivery increased from 2 to 17%. In total, 92% of the participants received the intervention, and 52% expressed satisfaction. Across participants, the average implementation score was 61%. Only one person connected to the virtual conversation.DiscussionCrises have impacted how the Chilean population in both urban and rural regions navigate their food environment for their household as well as small-scale agricultural production in these areas; elucidating a greater dependency on ICTs amongst small-scale farmers, vendors, and consumers in Chile to buy and/or sell food. We also conclude that it is feasible to implement a digital literacy intervention for key food system actors in urban and rural settings in Chile. Future studies will contribute to the evidence base about the feasibility and impact of similar digital literacy interventions; an area of increasing importance given the rising prevalence of the digital food environment worldwide.

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Farmers' Participation in Messenger‐Based Social Groups And Its Effects on Performance in Irrigated Areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Kurbanov,

Tadjiev,

Djanibekov

et al. 2024

Agribusiness

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The penetration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in farming communities is increasing the use of smartphone‐based instant messaging apps. Despite this, the reasons behind participation and the impact on farm productivity in developing countries remain unexplored. This study uses survey data of cotton growers in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to explore factors explaining participation in social media groups and its impact on farm performance. The results show that the factors and benefits differ across these two countries. Participation in social media groups has a positive effect on cotton yields in both countries, but increases revenue only in Kazakhstan. We discuss possible reasons for contrasting results and policy implications for improving agricultural extension and advisory services in Central Asia. Scaling up smartphone‐based e‐extension should focus on younger, more educated farmers. Emphasizing associated economic benefits and fostering decision‐making autonomy among farmers will be crucial for creating conducive environment for benefiting from e‐extension services.

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Small farmers, big tech: agrarian commerce and knowledge on Myanmar Facebook

Cited by 10 publications

References 53 publications

Organic online politics: Farmers, Facebook, and Myanmar's military coup

Organic online politics: Farmers, Facebook, and Myanmar's military coup

Pilot study of a digital literacy-based intervention to confront concomitant crises amongst key food system actors in Chile

Farmers' Participation in Messenger‐Based Social Groups And Its Effects on Performance in Irrigated Areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

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