Maxxi Tani

The Digital Evolution of Farmer Communities

The majority of Indonesian farmers, 70-80%, are senior or above 45 years old (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2023). Normally older farmers seek product recommendations or other agriculture tips manually in their local farmer communities or ask farm shops to get insight from shop owners, who usually are also farmers and know more about the pesticide. As the climate changes faster or unpredictable, pests and plant disease somehow change, showing new resistance or difficulties to eradicate. Local farmers will need quite a long time if they rely on local preferences which generally will do the same. So, in this case the role of farmers in another region or a brand which can digitally assist them to solve their problems becomes very necessary.

Now, the majority of farmers are using smartphones, so they have known about facebook, whatsapp, youtube and the famous tiktok apps. They started to learn using facebook, and further they started communities and built local until national groups to share their concern and solution about their focus commodities. On top of that, they successfully build new connections and solid communities despite their different location and conditions.

1.Strengthening Brand-Farmer Relationships

Facebook, the old name of meta, successfully gained farmer intention, because the platform accommodated farmers, not only to share their experiences, but utilize farmer groups to share more in depth information related to agriculture. When meta ads became so familiar, like in Indonesia where farming is one of the biggest occupations, meta ads can be helpful to the brand to deliver their product and services to the farmer directly.

This also applied to Whatsapp, which usually the agribusinesses run short-form video ads on Facebook or Instagram Reels showing real local good harvests with callto-action “Chat on WhatsApp” by clicking the ad, instantly direct to a chat window with a brand representative. This keeps the farmer inside an interface where they are already comfortable with and more personal.

“Local Farmers Will Need Quite A Long Time If They Rely On Local Preferences Which Generally Will Do The Same.”

Navigating Local Barriers to Digital Adoption

Here’s some challenges faced by digital marketers in the world of agriculture

The Locals Preferences, a brand can spend a number of money for a digital campaign, but if a farmer neighbor or trusted local community leader says a product doesn't work, those digital marketing efforts will immediately feel wasted or you need more time to gain awareness and trust. Not only that, the local farmers' cultivation habits are also difficult to change, as most of them still use traditional tools but, they facing difficulties to find a stronger and faster young workforce, because their children who are expected to be their successors, mostly refuse to go down to the field because of the hardness of the labor. Here’s why senior farmers are starting to look for other alternatives that can help farming easier and faster, and can reduce losses due to unpredictable climates.

Language Barrier, typical digital ads do not account for local conditions that come across as out-of-touch. Compounding this is the language barrier—marketing content that is written in the formal language often misses the emotional resonance and terminology used in regional dialects or more casual language or adapted to the target market. Thus, it is important to be able to get direct results from agriculture in various regions and personalize campaigns that are adjusted to local or national needs.

Building Trust through Authentic Engagement

The digital engagement surely influences viewers' trust and decision, like we see the growth of influencers in some social media platforms, they can build the “community” based on their followers and share their tips and tricks about agriculture, including their products selection. As a brand, we can’t miss this opportunity to wait for an influencer to review our products or services, we must create testimonial videos from farmers who are already using our products, and show the result of the plant after they use the product, or how this product like pesticide and fertilizer take part in making the harvest more optimal; this can have more effect if the farmer testimonial around their location, so it's related to their condition and how to tackle it; from the weather, soil condition, pest and diseases.

Moreover, brands that consistently build “their present” digitally, can get closer with the customer and easily gain customer trust. They will be open and curious about the function and price of brand products, consultation about their farm condition, also the solutions that we may offer to get better yield. And this will lead to customer loyalty in the long-term.

The Future of Direct-To-Farmer Marketing

Agri Marketing is becoming “Direct to Farmer” Brands now can more personalize; based on targeted location, on specific climate, crop focus, local pest outbreaks, ensuring the farmer sees an ad for a product precisely when they need it most. So, Farmers are helped more easily and quickly in dealing with problems on the field, and when brands can easily reach new markets without the hassle of going through local preferences.

Things to consider for marketers who want to delve into the agriculture

-Know your target market habits, agricultural decisions in Indonesia are highly communal. Farmers rely heavily on their local farmer groups and Agricultural Extension Workers, so empower them by showing shareable visual content, and product information.

-Piggybacking on local networks, featuring microinfluencer like; real - working farmers. present testimonials from key farmers or ‘millenial farmers’ who can inspire other farmers. This peer-to-peer validation is the ultimate driver of brand trust.

-Use the platform and content that they usually look for, create a short-form, highly visual, localized video content (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts). They want to see a person who looks like them, speaking their regional dialect, physically applying a product or using agri service in a field