Transform Farming with the Help of Social Media a Pioneering Chinese Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm and its micro Blog USA

This study explores the role of social media technology, especially micro blogging technology in the introduction of a new agricultural business model in China. As the rapid urbanization process brings challenges such as loss of agricultural land and food safety problems, some people try to address the challenges through transforming farming with a new business model, i.e. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). The CSA model emphasizes risk sharing, and requires significant trust between farmers and consumers. Yet the general public lack awareness of the model when it was first introduced, and trust among each other is quite low in the general public. Social media tools, such as the micro blogging technology, are adopted by the young CSA farmers to develop public awareness of the CSA model and cultivate consumers’ trust toward the farm. Through content analysis of micro blog posts of the CSA pioneers in China, the study contributes to our understanding of the role of micro blogging technology in transforming farming and addressing complex societal problems.