Do online communities of practice complement or substitute conventional agricultural extension services? Evidence from Indonesian shrimp farmers' participation in a Facebook group

Using a unique dataset of 1,574 shrimp farmers, this study investigates whether online communities of practice can replace or compensate for traditional agricultural extension services. This study reveals that the correlation between the use of the community and conventional extension services, such as neighboring farmers, family members, and extension workers, is not statistically significant in the full sample. However, on excluding the non-community members, the results indicate that those who obtain information from their neighbors or extension workers are more likely to use the community. Regarding the reliability of the community, those who obtain information from their neighboring farmers or family members are less likely to choose the community as their most reliable source of information. This is consistent with the results obtained after excluding non-community members. Furthermore, we found a negative and statistically significant correlation between the frequency of information sharing and inquiries and information sources such as neighboring farmers and family members, and no association between increased time spent at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased use of the community. The results suggest that online communities of practice may not yet have penetrated farmers in Indonesia and act as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, conventional extension services.