Integrating the Internet into Farming Activities

Abstract

This study has selected Shouguang city and Huanglou town, two relatively developed rural places in the coastal province of Shandong, China, to explore the significance of the Internet in the perception of farmers and the ways by which it has been used as a tool to improve their lives. The findings show that the increase of wealth has not propelled a large number of farmers at the research sites to adopt the Internet even though they can afford computers and network facilities. Instead, Internet adoption and usage are closely connected with rural entrepreneurs and their private enterprises. The three rural entrepreneurs covered in the study started to experiment with the Internet long before their peers, especially at a time when the advantages of the technology had not fully demonstrated themselves. On account of their favourable attitudes towards technologies and relatively strong command of financial resources, the venturesome rural pioneers are more likely to stand up to the possible risks associated with Internet adoption. They act as gatekeepers when imparting innovative information carried over the Internet to rural people nearby. Their adoption behaviours may influence how people perceive the Internet and let the benefits derived from the Internet trickle down to those non–adopters.