Participation in virtual animal markets and its impact on livestock farmer income in an Indonesian livestock-centric region

The rapid growth of digital technology during the COVID-19 era has transformed livestock marketing in Indonesia. A notable innovation is the emergence of virtual livestock markets as an alternative to traditional markets, particularly in East Java. Using data from the 2020 National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas) and applying the Treatment Effect Model (TEM), two aspects were analyzed: first, the determinants of farmers’ decisions to adopt virtual markets, and second, the effect of those decisions on income. The estimation results showed that the income level of farmers using virtual livestock markets was 1.5 times higher than that of farmers who only sold their livestock in non-virtual (traditional) livestock markets. However, farmers with low levels of education and business capital ownership tend only to sell their livestock in traditional livestock markets. Thus, the development of digitalization in the livestock sector, it can be said, has increased the opportunities for wealthy farmers to increase their profitability.