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New online market connecting Chinese consumers and small farms to improve food safety and environment

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  • H. Holly Wang
  • Yu Jiang
  • Shaosheng Jin
  • Qiujie Zheng

Abstract

In emerging economies where small farms are the main source of food supply, it is costly for the government to monitor and control food safety and production impact on the environment. However, the online food market can potentially give farmers stronger incentives to supply safer and more eco‐friendly products, as they can access a national market where consumers are interested in healthy food, and they can differentiate their products by providing production information using videos and pictures. This research uses the choice experiment method to elicit farmers’ preference for production practices and marketing channels in China where e‐commerce and delivery businesses are fast‐growing. Our main finding is that farmers perceive higher utility in selling safer and more eco‐friendly products than conventional products when using e‐commerce platforms, evidence of the online market's positive role in food safety enhancement. Our results also identify two types of farmers: traditional farmers and farmers open to the idea of online markets. Farmers who have higher education and live in villages with e‐commerce service centers are more likely to be the latter. Dans les économies émergentes où les petites exploitations sont la principale source d'approvisionnement alimentaire, il est coûteux pour le gouvernement de surveiller et de contrôler l'innocuité alimentaire et l'impact de la production sur l'environnement. Cependant, le marché alimentaire en ligne peut potentiellement inciter davantage les agriculteurs à fournir des produits plus sûrs et plus respectueux de l'environnement, car ils peuvent accéder à un marché national où les consommateurs sont intéressés par des aliments sains, puis ils peuvent différencier leurs produits en fournissant des informations sur la production à l'aide de vidéos et d'images. Cette recherche utilise la méthode d'expérimentation des choix pour déterminer la préférence des agriculteurs pour les pratiques de production et les canaux de commercialisation en Chine, où les entreprises de commerce électronique et de livraison connaissent une croissance rapide. Notre principale conclusion est que les agriculteurs perçoivent une plus grande utilité à vendre des produits plus sûrs et plus respectueux de l'environnement que les produits conventionnels lorsqu'ils utilisent des plateformes de commerce électronique, preuve du rôle positif du marché en ligne dans l'amélioration de l'innocuité alimentaire. Nos résultats identifient également deux types d'agriculteurs : les agriculteurs traditionnels et les agriculteurs ouverts à l'idée des marchés en ligne. Les agriculteurs qui ont plus d’éducation et qui vivent dans des villages dotés de centres de services de commerce électronique sont plus susceptibles d'être de ce dernier groupe.

Suggested Citation

  • H. Holly Wang & Yu Jiang & Shaosheng Jin & Qiujie Zheng, 2022. "New online market connecting Chinese consumers and small farms to improve food safety and environment," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 70(4), pages 305-324, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:canjag:v:70:y:2022:i:4:p:305-324
    DOI: 10.1111/cjag.12319
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