Farmers in Dak Lak are gradually embracing digital platforms to promote their products and secure orders. This proactive approach not only addresses market access challenges along with reshapes production and business practices, but also opens up significant opportunities for local agricultural produce to reach global markets.

At Aeroco Coffee farm in Ea Kao Ward, livestreaming sessions held directly at the production site are helping bring specialty coffee to customers. According to Mr. Le Dinh Tu, a representative of the Aeroco Coffee brand, livestreaming at the production site helps enhance the brand's credibility and build customer trust. "This is a smart sales channel that can address buyers' concerns more quickly as well as effectively. Traditional hotline calls may not always convey all the information they need," Mr. Tu said. To professionalise its livestreaming activities, Aeroco Coffee has invested in dedicated facilities and trained staff to introduce its products through livestreams.

Ms. Dang Thi Hong Dao (right) livestreaming product sales with a fellow cooperative member.

Businesses are not alone in embracing digital platforms. Farmers are also gradually making inroads into online markets. Ms. Dang Thi Hong Dao, a resident of Phu Yen ward, is a typical example. As a member of the Dak Lak Ecosystem Agricultural Cooperative, she uses organically grown passion fruit to produce soft-dried jam, passion fruit concentrate combined with Nghinh Phong tea. From her personal social media platforms, Ms. Dao has taken the initiative to list her products on e-commerce platforms through business partnership agreements. As a result, her products have reached both domestic and international markets, while sales volume has increased by 50%.

Shaping a digital mindset

In practice, selling agricultural products on e-commerce platforms has proved effective. However, significant challenges remain, requiring close coordination and support from management agencies along with mass organisations.

Of the 3,526 members of the Farmers' Association in Phu Yen Ward, only around 882 members, or 25%, currently use digital technology to promote and sell their products. The biggest barriers are farmers' limited skills in content creation, livestreaming, customer engagement together with online order processing.

To support its members, the Phu Yen Ward Farmers' Association has organised digital skills training courses, offering guidance on livestreaming, image development and OCOP product promotion. It has also organised livestreaming sessions to connect agricultural producers with consumers. These activities focus on practical training alongside hands-on guidance.

Aeroco Coffee staff confidently introducing products during a livestreaming session.

Simultaneously, the provincial Farmers' Association has proactively organised training programmes tailored to practical needs. Most recently, 450 participants, including heads of farmers' association branches and farmers with outstanding production along with business performance, attended a training course entitled "Digital Farmers - Bringing Dak Lak's Agricultural Produce to E-commerce Platforms".

Ms. H Giang Nie, Chairwoman of the Provincial Farmers' Association, emphasised that digital transformation requires farmers to shift their mindset from "producing what they have" to "producing what the market needs", with a focus on brand building and increasing product value from the cultivation stage.

Supporting this transition, Ms. Luong Thi Thuy Anh, Director of the Dak Lak Innovation Hub (DIHUB), said farmers could begin their digital transformation using simple tools such as smartphones to maintain digital production logs, create product traceability QR codes and produce short videos introducing their products. However, the key is to ensure authenticity as well as maintain customer trust, while remaining vigilant and protecting personal information coupled with account security in the digital environment.

Translated by KHUONG THAO