Laio Forti Thomaz

The development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has provided possibilities for applications that can be seen as innovation within society. Within this context, it is possible to use the internet as a way of commercializing products, with advantages and disadvantages depending on the sector. Parallel to this, the commerce of organic products has also gained notoriety in Brazil and in the world. However, the rural area is the least connected in the country. The objective of this study is to answer how the development of the TICs, through electronic commerce, has been used by organic producers in the Maringá region and what is their perception about the benefits or not. Questionnaires were applied to 32 producers, 16 of whom used e-commerce and 16 did not. The results point to a perception of benefits for those who adopt electronic commerce and also to the fact that the main differences between the groups are related to these older producers and market time. Therefore, a differentiated approach focused on these producers may have more effective results to increase the supply of products marketed online.