Abstract

Similar to regions which undergo transformation from developing to developed economy, China has been facing various problems during the rapid urbanization process: loss of agricultural land, threatened food safety, and problems caused by migrant work force. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a possible solution to some of the problems. CSA is a sustainable agriculture model, and emphasizes partnership between farmers and members – citizens who are willing to become part of the farming community. In CSA model, members support the farm through advance payment or working on the farm and they share risks with farmers. In risk sharing, it is crucial to build trust between farmers and members. However, most members do not have enough information to evaluate farmers’ trustworthiness as they cannot visit farms frequently. Micro blogging technology offers farmers a new channel to communicate and interact with members. Since micro blogging platform is open, and various mobile devices make micro blogging convenient, farmers can easily keep members updated and address members’ problems timely. The embedded social networking feature also enables farmers to facilitate interactions among CSA members. In this study, we investigate how the CSA pioneers in China adopt micro bogging technology to engage their members and develop the CSA community. We analyze micro blog posts of the first CSA farm in China and we share our findings

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