Advancing Digital Equity in Rural Agricultural Communities: An Applied Research Project with Farmworkers, Community Health Workers, Growers and Producers, and Public Libraries: Q&A and Discussion

Proposal:

Objective: There are profound barriers to digital inclusion for farmworkers which adversely affect health outcomes. Our applied research project focuses on discovering and documenting barriers to internet access for migrant farmworkers. The research questions asked include the topics of accessibility of internet access and devices for farmworkers, the information and digital literacy levels of farmworkers and farmers, and to what extent do public libraries support or provide outreach to these communities and what barriers they face.

Methods: This project is divided into three working groups, or Aims. For Aim 1, farmworkers across the state are surveyed by community health workers assigned to work directly with migrant farmworker communities. These surveys focus on discovering needs and barriers regarding internet access. We anticipate 1000 participants as our sample group. For Aim 2, three focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with farmers and up to fifteen interviews are being conducted with farmworkers. These interviews and FGDs focus on needs and barriers of farmers and farmworkers in accessing the internet. For Aim 3, a survey was distributed to NC public libraries to determine the current level of engagement with the farmworkers across the state, interest in being more engaged, and the role of public libraries in establishing internet access for farmworkers.

Results: In Aim 1, so far we have over 600 respondents of a total projected 1000. 26% of survey respondents reported sometimes having internet access, 4.6% reported no internet access, and 69.4% reported having internet access. 45.6% reported the internet was sometimes fast enough to watch a video. In Aim 2, farmers expressed lack of access to internet and 5G. Some felt confident in their online search skills and others wanted further training. In Aim 3, 37.9% of librarians have participated in providing outreach to agricultural communities. 5 respondents out of 58 had provided outreach to farmworkers. 11 respondents had already participated in county broadband internet planning or implementation and 15 had not.  

Conclusions: A need for reliable internet service persists for both farmworkers and farmers in the state of North Carolina. Several barriers for public libraries to outreach include lack of personnel/time, lack of advocacy skillset, and lack of budget or funding.