A case study of a farm product information disclosure system based on SEICA in Niigata Prefecture

Abstract

A practical and effective traceability system is in great demand for consumers and farmers. As an example of traceability system, a farm product information disclosure system was developed. On the web site, farmers can administer the web site contents which contains product information, self introduction, questionnaire, bulletin board and so on. The system is based on SEICA(http://seica.info) which adopt XML web service system. The product has a label in which web site address and identified number are printed. Consumers can browse information their purchased products with this label. One of agricultural co-operatives in Niigata prefecture demonstrated this system. There was 14,000 access in two years. It was clear by the web questionnaire that the consumer could have sense of security for their purchased products with this system. Effective management of this system is important, such as how to indicate the web site address on the products and arrangement of substantial web content. This system was useful not only for consumers to browse but also for farmers to do a marketing research and they can communicate each other. As a result, farmers can develop a various marketing strategy based on free and open database, SEICA.