Research on Countermeasures for Improving the Digital Literacy Level of Moderate-Scale Tea Farmers

Dongkai Lin, Bingsheng Fu, Jinhuang Lin, Kexiao Xie and Jinke Lin ()
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Dongkai Lin: Anxi College of Tea Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Quanzhou 362406, China
Bingsheng Fu: Anxi College of Tea Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Quanzhou 362406, China
Jinhuang Lin: Anxi College of Tea Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Quanzhou 362406, China
Kexiao Xie: Anxi College of Tea Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Quanzhou 362406, China
Jinke Lin: College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-29

Abstract: In the context of smart agriculture, the tea industry is undergoing a transformative shift toward intelligent development. As the birthplace of tea, China holds a significant position in the global tea industry, with Anxi County in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province—renowned as the origin of Tie Guan Yin—standing as the world’s largest oolong tea production area. Its intelligent transformation of the tea industry is typical and representative. However, current research on the digital literacy of farmers is not yet mature, and there is a lack of systematic research on this specific group of tea farmers, which to some extent restricts the transformation of the tea industry towards intelligent development. The level of digital literacy among tea farmers is crucial for the intelligent development and transformation of the tea industry. Improving the digital literacy of tea farmers is the key to promoting the intelligent development of the tea industry. Therefore, studying the digital literacy of tea farmers has significant practical significance. This article takes Anxi County as the research area and focuses on moderate-scale tea farmers as the research object. Based on the United Nations Global Framework for Digital Literacy and taking into account the actual situation of tea farmers, an evaluation index system and analysis framework for tea farmers’ digital literacy have been constructed from seven dimensions: equipment and software operation skills, digital information literacy, digital communication and collaboration literacy, digital content creation literacy, digital security literacy, problem-solving literacy, and professional digital literacy. Using literature review, questionnaire survey, interview, and quantitative analysis methods, a questionnaire containing the above-mentioned dimensions was designed. After collecting data, the rationality of the questionnaire structure was verified using SPSS software. The digital literacy level of 440 medium-sized tea farmers from 11 major tea-producing townships in Anxi County was measured, analyzed, and Two-Tailed correlation tests were conducted. The results indicate that there are currently six aspects of digital literacy among tea farmers that are at a moderate level, and professional digital literacy is the weakest among the seven digital literacy. The overall digital literacy level of tea farmers needs to be strengthened. Large-scale tea farmers have the conditions to apply smart agricultural equipment and technology, which can achieve intelligent and refined management of tea gardens and intelligent upgrading of the entire industry chain. Based on the research results of the seven digital literacy of tea farmers, this article proposes improvement measures corresponding to the seven digital literacy of tea farmers from the perspectives of “government, industry associations, and training institutions”, providing reference for Anxi County and other tea-producing areas in the world.

Keywords: digital literacy; moderate-scale operation; tea grower; United Nations Global Framework for Digital Literacy; smart agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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