Building digital foundations for aquaculture governance through small-scale farmer readiness in Indonesia

Now days, although digitalization across sectors, including aquaculture, has developed fast, there is still a limited uptake of the use of digital technologies, especially among small-scale farmers. Digital technologies have potential to increase production efficiency, decision-making process and sustainability in aquaculture operations. That matters, as much as aquaculture is an important business of food security, rural livelihood and is part of the blue economy. Thus, this research seeks to assess the readiness of small-scale freshwater and ornamental fish farmers to adopt digital aquaculture technology, drawing on qualitative field research such as interviews, focus group discussions and policy analysis on small-scale fishery workers in Bogor, Bekasi and Depok. Results show significant differences in digital readiness over the production systems and locations. Farmers engaged in export-oriented ornamental fish production, and those with ample access to capital and digital infrastructure, exhibit high adoption rates of digital marketing, traceability, and production monitoring. Instead, a large number of smallholder food fish farmers rely on conventional farming practices, which lack the digital literacy required to run businesses, which leads to higher business risk and has low investment potential. On the ground settings, we note that smartphone penetration on the rise, younger generation participation and startup-based solutions lead to adoption. On the other hand, obstacles have not entirely gone away as adoption remains affected by structural barriers: uneven infrastructure, high upfront costs and lack of strong institutional support still deter. The findings suggest digital adoption isn’t all about data or resources; it’s a function of farmers’ expertise to adopt, adjust and maintain digital practices. Those findings suggest that there is a growing need for more responsive and inclusive governance models. Strengthening digital aquaculture is complex, not only through technology, it also demands deeper integration into platforms, focused capacity building and closer coupling of government, private sector and farmer organizations to lead to a more equitable and sustainable transformation into digital aquaculture.