Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management ISSN: 2766-824X | Vol. 8, No. 1, 2023 107 Investigation on Farmers' Use of E‐commerce in The Context of Rural Revitalization Nana Cai School of Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Anhui 233040, China Abstract: The 19th and 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly put forward "implementing the rural revitalization strategy". In the context of the information age, the development of rural e-commerce is an important means to promote rural economic development and an important force to promote rural revitalization. Under the background of the epidemic, the offline sales of agricultural products and processed agricultural products have been blocked, and the traditional offline market has shifted to online sales. Rural e-commerce in some counties in China is booming, driving rural economic growth and improving the living standards of rural residents. However, there are still some problems in the development of rural e-commerce,Low scale and branding of agricultural products, Incomplete agricultural product sales system and logistics system and E-commerce talents are scarce and cannot meet the requirements.It can be improved by improving the rural environment, attracting a large number of professionals, establishing characteristic brand awareness, improving brand competitiveness, improving various infrastructure, and improving the logistics supply chain system. Keywords: Rural revitalization e-commerce farmers. 1. Current Situation of Rural E- commerce Development In May 2019, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the Outline of the Digital Rural Development Strategy and issued a notice requiring all regions and departments to earnestly implement it in combination with the actual situation. The Outline of Digital Rural Development puts forward that digital rural development is the dividend of the continuous modernization of the original farmers' economy, the use of modern information technology and the rapid development of agriculture and rural development with the continuous improvement of informatization and modern farmers' literacy. In 2019, the major agricultural product e-commerce platforms in rural areas continued to accelerate development and form scale, and all major e-commerce enterprises saw new opportunities and new battlefields for the development of rural e-commerce. At the same time, a large number of agriculture-related Internet companies have risen rapidly. Through the digital means of big data, various links of agricultural product production and sales have been created, and the agricultural production mode has undergone new changes. By relying on the advantages of big data and the Internet to arrange crop planting and animal husbandry planting, the business field extends to the front end of the agricultural product supply chain. We are committed to the digital upgrading of the whole chain of agricultural production, supply and marketing, and effectively help rural revitalization. At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 broke out, and many policies and measures of home isolation and travel restriction provided opportunities for the development of agricultural products e-commerce. During the epidemic, the consumption demand of the whole people changed from offline to online, and online shopping became the mainstream of people's consumption during the epidemic. The sales performance of most large e-commerce platforms such as JD, Meituan and Pinduoduo in agricultural products has increased more than three times over the same period last year [1]. During the epidemic, consumers' awareness of the convenience and safety of purchasing agricultural products online was constantly strengthened, and the habit of purchasing agricultural products online was constantly deepened. Zhang Dangli analyzed the relationship between rural e- commerce and economic development in China through data, and concluded that the development of rural e-commerce increased farmers' income, promoted the development of rural economy, and accelerated the process of urban-rural integration; At the same time, he also pointed out that the development of rural e-commerce has caused regional differences to increase, which is unfavorable to the adjustment of rural employment structure, and is not conducive to the healthy development of rural economy. Through research, Wu Di found that the standardization of agricultural products in the development of rural e-commerce in China is relatively low, and the logistics cost is also high, and the rural industry has not yet formed a complete system, which has seriously hindered the development of rural e- commerce. He proposed that rural areas should strengthen the construction of blockchain, explore the new model of "blockchain+Internet", and promote the development of rural e-commerce. Chang Bai analyzed the problems in the development of rural e-commerce logistics against the background of rural revitalization strategy. He believes that the current imperfect rural logistics industry chain, e- commerce platform and lack of logistics talents are the important reasons that hinder the development of rural logistics. He proposes to strengthen rural infrastructure, improve e-commerce platform system and logistics supply chain construction. In Zhu Pinwen's view, to develop rural e- commerce, the quality of employees is the primary factor. He believes that rural e-commerce employees need to have the following characteristics and professional qualities: thinking consciousness, professional technology, marketing ability, platform operation ability, and so on. Therefore, it is 108 necessary to strengthen the training of practitioners in relevant aspects and improve their abilities [2]. 2. Factors Restricting the Development of Rural E-commerce 2.1. Low scale and branding of agricultural products The self-built platform of rural e-commerce has problems such as small scale and decentralization. Most of them only have simple supply and demand information. Agricultural products are mainly produced by large farmers or families. Production is decentralized and fragmented. There are not many large-scale centralized production bases. The quality of agricultural products in the region is uneven. The decentralized production of similar products is not conducive to centralized procurement and sales, and cannot meet market needs. Agricultural products entered the e-commerce platform late, and the sales of agricultural products have many constraints, such as season, precipitation, soil, and so on. Farmers lack brand awareness for the sales management of agricultural products, and the added value of products is low. Farmers do not recognize the importance of brands for product sales and lack predictability of market fluctuations. Therefore, the core competitiveness of rural e-commerce enterprises is low, which is mainly reflected in the insufficient recognition of brands by small and medium-sized enterprises and the unclear positioning of e-commerce enterprises for brands, leading to the difficulty of agricultural product brands to have a wide range of influence. 2.2. Incomplete agricultural product sales system and logistics system The agricultural product sales system is not perfect, and farmers lack the awareness of centralized sales. Most farmers lack the market analysis and prediction of agricultural products, and simply focus on sales interests, often missing the best sales opportunity; Moreover, most farmers lack the awareness of contract, commodity trading still remains at the oral level, and breach of contract occurs from time to time. The supporting infrastructure of rural e-commerce needs to be further improved. The backward rural infrastructure and the difficulties in logistics and transportation are the key factors restricting the development of rural e-commerce. Below the township level, the distribution cost is higher. The high cost of logistics and distribution greatly increases the cost of e-commerce and restricts the development of e- commerce. Therefore, the popularity of e-commerce in rural areas needs to be improved. Although China's roads cover a wide range, and the roads to villages and villages are basically covered, due to the geographical impact, rural e-commerce has a relatively single form in the process of implementing multimodal transport, mainly relying on road transport, and general logistics can not achieve rural distribution. There is no complete logistics supply chain system, and it needs to cooperate with a third party to achieve the sales of the platform. Agricultural products have strong seasonality, short shelf life and are easy to rot and damage, which are very limited by the transportation time. 2.3. E-commerce talents are scarce and cannot meet the requirements In recent years, with the continuous development of rural e-commerce, some government departments and e-commerce departments have carried out many training activities on e- commerce. However, due to the majority of the elderly and children living in rural areas, the education level of the elderly is generally low, and their ability to learn and master new things is relatively weak, so they are not competent for independent e-commerce operation. Most of the young and middle-aged people who remain in the countryside are the main force of agricultural products planting in the family. They have insufficient ability to use e-commerce information, and more professionals choose to stay in the city, resulting in a large talent supply gap in e-commerce of agricultural products. On the other hand, the introduction of available talents in the field of rural e-commerce is also relatively difficult. Due to the obvious difference between the consumption level and wage level in rural areas and that in urban areas, the salary and treatment of e-commerce talents are generally low in rural areas, and the development of personnel is limited. Professional talents are more inclined to enter urban development. Moreover, the infrastructure related to the development of e-commerce in rural areas is not complete, and relevant work is difficult to carry out; Compared with urban areas, rural transportation is not smooth enough and information is relatively blocked, which is not conducive to the innovative development of e-commerce. Over time, under the influence of salary, development prospects and other factors, the enthusiasm of professionals to enter rural areas for employment has become lower and lower, resulting in the perennial shortage of professionals in the field of e-commerce in rural areas. 3. Countermeasures and Suggestions for The Development of Rural E- commerce 3.1. Improve the rural environment and attract a large number of professionals At this stage, with the overall launch of the rural revitalization strategy, China's agriculture has embarked on a new journey of agricultural and rural modernization. In the face of the new requirements of the rural revitalization strategy, it is necessary to adjust the business model of e- commerce and improve the development level of e-commerce in rural areas. The development of e-commerce needs to carry out digital transformation in combination with information technology. First, the development of e-commerce needs to actively explore the different matching service modes of information technology for different orders, so as to make its business model fit the actual development situation of rural areas, so as to provide a solution to the contradiction between the market and merchants in rural areas. Second, the development of e-commerce requires the establishment of digital farmers' cooperatives, which can greatly stimulate the enthusiasm of farmers to participate in e-commerce and provide assistance for the rapid and high-quality development of e-commerce. Third, the e-commerce industry should use the driving role of the data chain to continuously activate the industrial chain, supply chain and sales chain, enhance the ability of farmers to connect supply and demand with the market, and help the optimization and upgrading of the rural 109 e-commerce industry. [Cen Yuming. Exploration and consideration of e-commerce development under the rural revitalization strategy [J]. Rural Economy and Technology, 2022,33 (15): 241-243.] One of the key points of implementing the rural revitalization strategy is talent. Talent is an important measure to realize the modernization of agriculture and rural areas and the optimization of industrial structure. At present, the rural e-commerce industry has obvious shortcomings in talent training and talent introduction. Therefore, excellent talents can be recruited and trained in talent introduction. On the one hand, relevant government departments can establish cooperative relations with other regions, promote the circulation of e-commerce talents, and constantly exchange and share experiences. At the same time, government departments can appropriately introduce talent introduction policies to promote more high-tech talents to work in the countryside and provide human support for e-commerce development. In terms of settlement, rural e-commerce workers can be given appropriate financial support and policy preferences, and the employment rate of college students returning to their hometown can be improved as much as possible, and an effective talent selection mechanism can be developed. On the other hand, e-commerce enterprises can carry out multi-channel learning and training programs to cultivate high-quality professionals to meet the development needs of enterprises. 3.2. Establish characteristic brand awareness and improve brand competitiveness Under the strategy of rural revitalization, it is necessary to continuously promote the development of characteristic agriculture in rural areas and increase farmers' income through multi-channel innovation. As an indispensable element of e-commerce development, agricultural product innovation has become an important measure to accurately grasp the trend of the times, target the needs of the people, and comprehensively promote the rural revitalization strategy. The development of e-commerce in rural areas has brought new development opportunities to more farmers and enterprises, and promoted more subjects to participate in e- commerce, resulting in fierce competition in the industry. In the context of fierce competition, consumers are more cautious in choosing similar products and tend to choose high-quality products. Therefore, e-commerce platforms and merchants should improve product quality, enhance product characteristics and build regional brands to lay a solid foundation for promoting rural revitalization strategy. E- commerce platforms and merchants should build their own brands according to the local characteristics of agricultural products, produce brand effects and better promote the sales of agricultural products. We should also strengthen the standardization of the production and quality testing of agricultural products. For logistics enterprises, we should strengthen the technical research of transportation, storage and distribution links, ensure the smooth flow of all links, and jointly build characteristic agricultural products brands with agricultural e-commerce enterprises. In addition, the construction of e-commerce platforms should also be improved. The government should integrate e-commerce resources at all levels, expand the scope of rural e-commerce, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of rural e-commerce platforms. 3.3. Improve the infrastructure and logistics supply chain system At this stage, with the overall launch of the rural revitalization strategy, China's agriculture has embarked on a new journey of agricultural and rural modernization. In the face of the new requirements of the rural revitalization strategy, it is necessary to adjust the business model of e- commerce and improve the development level of e-commerce in rural areas. The development of e-commerce needs to carry out digital transformation in combination with information technology. First, the development of e-commerce needs to actively explore the different matching service modes of information technology for different orders, so as to make its business model fit the actual development situation of rural areas, so as to provide a solution to the contradiction between the market and merchants in rural areas. Second, the development of e-commerce requires the establishment of digital farmers' cooperatives, which can greatly stimulate the enthusiasm of farmers to participate in e-commerce and provide assistance for the rapid and high-quality development of e-commerce. Third, the e-commerce industry should use the driving role of the data chain to continuously activate the industrial chain, supply chain and sales chain, enhance the ability of farmers to connect supply and demand with the market, and help the optimization and upgrading of the rural e-commerce industry. Perfecting the policy environment in rural areas is the premise and guarantee to realize the rapid development of rural e-commerce. The government should invest heavily in supporting the development of rural e-commerce, strengthen the maintenance and construction of transportation facilities, expand the hardened area of rural roads, and improve the rural transportation environment; The government should also strengthen the construction of rural network infrastructure to achieve full coverage of rural network. On this basis, we will focus on improving the speed and quality of the network to ensure smooth network sales. The government should strengthen the construction of logistics supply chain and increase financial support. Build logistics parks and increase technical investment in agricultural products storage and transportation tools. Cold storage shall be built in rural areas to facilitate the storage and preservation of agricultural products. Cold chain support should also be put into the transportation link to realize the whole process of cold chain transportation of fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products, so as to minimize the loss of agricultural products and thus reduce costs. Acknowledgment Anhui University of Finance and Economics Undergraduate Research and Innovation Fund Project: XSKY22250. References [1] Cen Min Current situation and countermeasures of e-commerce development of agricultural products in Huishui County [D]. Guizhou University, 2021. DOI: 10.27047/d.cnki.ggudu.2021.000150 [2] Han Zixuan, Yao Ping. Analysis of e-commerce development in the context of rural revitalization strategy [J]. National Circulation Economy, 2022, (26): 4-6. 110 [3] Cen Yuming. Exploration and thinking of e-commerce development under the rural revitalization strategy [J]. Rural Economy and Technology, 2022,33 (15): 241-243.