Some of the biggest users of live streaming in China are not teenagers, they’re farmers
Taobao wants to help farmers live stream themselves out of poverty
When most people think about countryside life, they envision plowing fields, feeding farm animals, and other grueling work. But China is seeing a new type of farm work becoming popular: Live streaming.
Live streaming?
Yup, farmers live streaming 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 programme for Taobao sellers in the countryside, including incubating 1000 farmer live streamers.
(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)
Taobao introduced live streaming to its app in 2016, and since then it has seen an explosion of live streamers 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 live streamers have promoted farm products on Taobao, according to the company.