COVID-19 The Impact of the Pandemic on Farmers' Use of the Internet for Agricultural Issues

Abstract

Aims: To assess the impact of COVID-19 on farmers' use of the internet for agricultural issues. Material and methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data from 188 farmers in Samsun province. For the interpretation of the collected data, Paired Sample t Test was used using Python programming language. Results: Significant differences were found in the amount of mobile gigabytes (GB) owned by farmers, the frequency of attending online agricultural trainings, the frequency of visiting the websites of the Ministry of Agriculture and private companies, the frequency of searching on agricultural issues on the Internet, and the frequency of checking product and input prices on the Internet compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, there is no significant difference in the frequency of using the Digital Agricultural Market (ditap.gov.tr) website, conducting marketing research on the internet and e-commerce compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: The study results suggest that challenging crises such as COVID-19 can accelerate farmers' adoption of innovations. Conclusions: The study helps to understand the impacts of crises such as COVID-19 on the diffusion of information. Understanding these changes can be useful for policymakers and sector leaders to develop strategies to support farmers and ensure the continued success of the agricultural sector during and after the pandemic.