China’s Live Streamers Are Growing Crops And Their Fan Bases Simultaneously

Farmers have harnessed livestreaming over lentils this time to their advantage and have acquired some fans and of course another source of income! China’s GDP rose from an all-time low of 47.21 USD billion in 1962 to a whooping all time high of 11199.15 USD billion in 2016. Deng Xiaoping played a crucial role towards upheaving China’s economy but what keeps this growth momentum consistent is the cultural ideology of economic co-dependency that surpasses the ideologies and business cultures of the west.

China’s Live Streamers: What Is live streaming?

Live streaming bridges the gap between advertising and a reality TV show. Just as China sets the world pace in e-commerce, it’s doing the same for live streaming. More than 100 million viewers watch a live online video event every month, according to digital brand researcher L2. As an e-commerce tool, the typical live streaming format involves a celebrity demonstrating a product and answering questions from a digital audience. It takes place in real-time and usually on a smartphone, which accounts for some 95% of e-commerce activity in China. Live streaming has indeed become a powerful tool.

Yes, farmers livestreaming their work has become a hit in China – so much so that one of the country’s biggest ecommerce platforms has set up a special program to train them. Alibaba has announced that it’s planning a special poverty alleviation program for Taobao sellers in the countryside, including incubating 1,000 farmer livestreamers.

How has it reached the farmers?

Taobao introduced livestreaming on its app in 2016. Since then, it has seen an explosion of livestreamers selling everything, from the latest fashion brands to gourmet insect larvae. It has since become a new way for farmers in China’s poor rural areas to reach customers. In the last three years, around 100,000 livestreamers have promoted farm products on Taobao, according to the company.

Lets talk revenue from livestreaming

One livestreamer recently managed to sell 1 million kilos of oranges in just 13 days, according to reports, Chen Jiubei, who goes under the username Xiangxi Jiumei, streams herself on Taobao doing farm work, talking about her cured meat or eggs or just making meals in her humble countryside home.

So what draws people to peek into village life?

The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a widespread food safety incident in China. The scandal involved milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with melamine Of an estimated 300,000 victims in China, six babies died from kidney stones and other kidney damage and an estimated 54,000 babies were hospitalized. The Chinese have grown cautious of the food the produce they consume ever since, and this gave rise to a transparency and authenticity gap that livestreaming filled in.

Some people tune in to check where the product they’re buying comes from, with sellers reassuring them that farm products are grown in a natural way and in an area without pollution – something that is becoming increasingly important for Chinese shoppers.

Entertainment

Others tune in to be entertained or just because they miss the countryside life. In any case, farmers can up their sales significantly. And sometimes the farmers can even become web celebrities.

Two farmer brothers raising bamboo rats, a type of rodent that’s considered a delicacy in South China, have become meme-worthy after their vlog on Watermelon Video went viral.