Transformation of Rice Agribusiness: Exploring New Media use in Kendari City

In the era of digital transformation, new media have become a powerful driver of innovation in global agriculture, enabling farmers to access information, exchange ideas, and strengthen market linkages. In developing regions like Southeast Asia, the integration of digital platforms into traditional farming systems holds significant potential for enhancing agribusiness efficiency and resilience. This study explores the role of new media in the development of rice agribusiness in Kendari City, Indonesia, focusing on its use for idea generation, product development, collaboration, and business networking. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected over three months in early 2025 through purposive sampling of key and main informants, comprising both land-owning rice farmers and agricultural laborers. Methods included in-depth interviews, participant observation, and literature analysis, with triangulation techniques used to ensure data validity. The findings reveal that while digital platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube are used by some farmers to exchange knowledge and improve farming practices, the overall adoption of new media remains limited. Key barriers include low digital literacy, inadequate infrastructure, and limited exposure to technological innovations. New media have supported access to production inputs and improved marketing communication; however, its role in agro-industrial development and localized innovation remains insufficiently leveraged. Although farmers are aware of advanced technological products from outside regions, these innovations have not yet been implemented locally due to practical and contextual limitations. Digital collaboration is found to facilitate crop marketing, but its integration into production planning and value-added processing is still lacking. This study concludes that while new media offers strong transformative potential for rice agribusiness in Kendari, its impact is constrained by uneven access and limited engagement among the farming community. Strengthening digital literacy programs, improving infrastructure, and fostering inclusive digital ecosystems are essential to realizing the full benefits of new media across the agribusiness value chain. Keywords: Economic development, new media, rice agribusiness, digital literacy, product development, farmer networks, rural livelihood.