Development of a custom business platform for certified organic farmers

Abstract

The organic food sector in Brazil is basically made up of small and medium-sized rural producers who, without access to adequate information technology (IT) and management tools for commercial production planning, product quality management and information flow management, come up against within logistical, marketing and contractual limits for regular and diversified supply to the consumer market. At the same time, the sector's enterprises and stakeholders are diffused and disjointed. Considering this context, the objective of this project is to develop a customized digital business platform for certified organic farmers in the Central Administrative Region of the state of São Paulo, whose operation will allow farmers to locate and communicate with other participants in the production chain, in a way that and through the establishment of "win-win" business relationships. To this end, some technical-scientific challenges must be overcome from the development of the research: (1) The specificities of organic food production systems in relation to conventional agriculture (small production scale, prevalence of poly cultures, rigidity of the technical-normative regulation, institutionalization of the sector as a market niche, disjointed production chain, lack of scientific research and targeted rural technical assistance) require the provision of customized technological systems; (2) the difficulty in the use and technological diffusion of innovative processes and products among small and medium-sized organic farmers, who represent 90% of the total number of certified producers in the country, has limited the use of technological resources to define their strategies for business. To overcome these challenges, the research will carry out a study on the conditions of use and technological diffusion among certified organic farmers in the central administrative region of the State of São Paulo (specific objective 1), with the simultaneous development of a technological support system for certified farmers to doing business at the regional level of the organic food production chain (specific objective 2). Considering the growth and institutionalization data of this market both at a global and national level, as well as the need to improve the degree of efficiency and effectiveness of the interdependent relationships established between the various links in the production chain at the local level, there are windows of technological opportunity, demand and institutional factors that allow us to foresee the great commercial potential for the diffusion of the business platform among its possible short and medium-term clients: certified organic producers (initial focus); distributors; processors and processors; retailers and wholesalers; suppliers of transport services, packaging, productive inputs, machinery and equipment; providers of financial services, technical assistance services and specialized consultancy; enterprises in the food and hotel industry; public institutions; public control and regulation bodies; consumers; importing and exporting companies. It is expected as a result of the research the creation of a technological support system for organic farmers to carry out regionalized businesses within this production chain, in order to facilitate the planning and operationalization of agricultural production ("gate to the inside"), as well as such as the adoption of joint business strategies between farmers and other enterprises ("gate for out"). (AU)