New opportunities for epidemic situation to reverse traditional agricultural agricultural e-commerce

With the spread of COVID-19 's epidemic in the community, Taiwan has implemented a three-level alert, schools have been closed, and companies have implemented remote work, which has dealt a heavy blow to the livelihood of small farmers everywhere. People stay at home, a variety of organic agricultural e-commerce platforms provide services at the right time, and their performance grows multiple times; consumers buy directly from farmers, bringing the distance between the place of origin and the dining table closer, which can avoid the exploitation of middlemen.

Since the level 3 alert was put on alert on May 19, schools at all levels have been closed, nutritious lunches have also stopped, and small farmers everywhere who used to supply organic fruits and vegetables in schools have been severely hit. The Council of Agriculture joined 60 agricultural e-commerce platforms to launch the "Agricultural Carnival" online platform. People go online or directly buy fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers through mobile phone App, and the house is distributed to the government. Since the launch of the website, the performance has nearly tripled.

The biggest problem in the production and marketing of agricultural products is that from producing areas to consumers, they have been exploited through layers of checkpoints. Take fruit as an example. After the small farmers on the mountain harvest, they are transported to the foot of the mountain, and then transferred to supermarkets in the north, central and south, and finally reached the hands of consumers. Several hurdles have been passed. Take garlic, onions and red beans as an example. If they are in the hands of a few large-market traders, they can manipulate prices, and farmers become the targets of exploitation.

Affected by the epidemic, local agricultural e-commerce platforms provide fresh, affordable and residential services to the government, which not only shortens the distance from the origin to the dining table, but also avoids the exploitation of the middleman. In the future, this kind of agricultural e-commerce platform will gradually become the mainstream, which will help small farmers get rid of the manipulation and control of prices by large-market merchants.

What small farmers need most is marketing and access. In recent years, universities have launched a social responsibility movement (USR). Apart from being a place for young students to receive education, universities can also be combined with local social organizations to help small farmers and give full play to the social responsibility of universities. For example, Jinan University is close to Riyue Lake and the Nine ethnic Cultural Village, and there are many agricultural and tourist attractions around it. Students have launched plans to train farmers in coffee production and marketing classes in places such as the country's surname, fish ponds, and Puli, and conduct coffee-related activities. raise awareness and help marketing.

The Chengchi University in Muzha, surrounded by many tea gardens, is famous for Tieguanyin and the four Seasons. The 501st Social Enterprise of National Chengchi University was established at the beginning of this year to call on alumni to take action to practice community-supported agriculture (CSA). Small farmers in organic farming who do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides may have higher costs. therefore, through the strength of the community, small farmers can have orders before sowing and transplanting rice seedlings, so that more farmers can be encouraged to join the ranks of organic farming.

The COVID-19 epidemic has changed various industries and accelerated the digital transformation. If the mode of agricultural transportation and marketing can be digitized generally and a complete production and marketing resume can be established, it will help to enhance the competitiveness of small farmers. Small farmers sell through e-commerce platforms, directly facing consumers and providing them with government houses, while consumers can buy agricultural products with brands and production and marketing experience, which is beneficial to small farmers everywhere.

If a university promotes a social responsibility movement, it can, through the social enterprise platform, combine with its students or graduate alumni to support local small farmers for a long time. If each person buys 1,000 yuan of organic products from local small farmers every month, 50 alumni can support one small farmer. 500 alumni can support 10 small farmers and use food to exert their real influence.

The COVID-19 epidemic has dealt a lot of negative blows to everyone, but it also provides business opportunities for the transformation of many industries.