E-commerce in agriculture - The case of crop protection product purchases in a discrete choice experiment

The internet is playing an increasing role in the development of rural areas. Farmers in particular, can benefit from new opportunities concerning farm management decisions. Hence, the goal of this study was to investigate German farmers' willingness to accept (WTA) e-commerce. Primary data of 165 farmers was collected by conducting a discrete choice experiment about the purchase of crop protection products. WTA estimates show that farmers are willing to switch to an online merchant if they are offered a significantly lower price. However, word-of-mouth-reputation and consultation offered via traditional media do not influence farmers' WTA for an online merchant. In contrast, delivery time significantly affects farmers' WTA for inputs purchased online. We also show that farmers' risk attitudes, prior online shopping experiences, and education are influential factors for the WTA for an online merchant. Surprisingly, age and farm size do not impact farmers' WTA. Since e-commerce has not been widely established in agriculture yet, these results are of great practical importance. The findings of this study demonstrate that online merchants of agricultural inputs should focus on trust, service quality and timely delivery. Furthermore, it might be useful to introduce farmers to e-commerce during their education.