Electronic commerce is increasingly playing a role by creating opportunities for marketing agricultural products. Via the Internet, individual consumer firms can compare prices and products across large numbers of suppliers, often spreading across international boundaries. Virtual markets will change the ways of doing business in agriculture. In the world of virtual markets, small scale is no barrier and diversity is an asset. For producers of specialty items, the world rather than the local area becomes the market place.
Electronic commerce offers unprecedented opportunities for farmers and rural areas.
Development of sites is best left to private initiatives, though some help in the initial stages may be useful. Once orders are placed, infrastructure for deliveries must be in place. Access to the Internet is also a must. Government help in training the information sector is important especially in disadvantaged areas. He describes the production cycle of oxen as about 4 to 5 years and that they are then sold after their period of service for cash.