Farmers’ Digital Literacy in Technology Adoption: Evidence from Coffee Farms in Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Coffee is one of Indonesia’s major agricultural commodities, providing significant contributions to national income and supporting rural livelihoods. Central Java holds an important position in this sector, but many coffee farmers continue to face persistent challenges, including low productivity, limited market access, and slow adoption of innovation. Digital technology presents opportunities to address these issues, yet its effectiveness relies heavily on farmers’ digital literacy. This study investigates how digital literacy influences performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE), and how these factors shape the adoption of digital technology among coffee farmers in Central Java. A quantitative survey was conducted between April and June 2024 involving 122 coffee farmers selected using snowball sampling. Data were gathered through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SmartPLS 4 with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis included outer model testing to assess reliability and validity and inner model testing to evaluate structural relationships. Results show that all constructs—digital literacy, PE, EE, and adoption—achieved strong convergent and discriminant validity, supported by high composite reliability. R-square values indicate that EE had the highest explanatory power (R² = 0.710), followed by PE (R² = 0.581), while adoption was moderately explained by the model (R² = 0.436). Hypothesis testing revealed that digital literacy significantly affected adoption (t = 3.737) and strongly influenced EE (t = 20.329) and PE (t = 14.451). EE also had a significant effect on adoption (t = 2.338), whereas PE did not (t = 0.219). These findings suggest that ease of use plays a more central role than perceived benefits in farmers’ adoption decisions. The study expands the application of UTAUT in agricultural contexts and highlights the importance of practical digital literacy programs and supportive policies to enhance technology adoption and promote sustainable digital transformation in Indonesia’s coffee sector.