diff --git a/ckanext/harvest/harvesters/base.py b/ckanext/harvest/harvesters/base.py
index 6f5e08ef5..4051c4c77 100644
--- a/ckanext/harvest/harvesters/base.py
+++ b/ckanext/harvest/harvesters/base.py
@@ -170,15 +170,17 @@ def _get_user_name(self):
         if self._user_name:
             return self._user_name
 
-        config_user_name = config.get('ckanext.harvest.user_name')
-        if config_user_name:
-            self._user_name = config_user_name
-            return self._user_name
-
         context = {'model': model,
                    'ignore_auth': True,
                    }
 
+        config_user_name = self.config.get('user')
+        if config_user_name:
+            user = p.toolkit.get_action('user_show')(context,
+                                                     {'id': config_user_name})
+            self._user_name = user['name']
+            return self._user_name
+
         # Check if 'harvest' user exists and if is a sysadmin
         try:
             user_harvest = p.toolkit.get_action('user_show')(