What is Rural Economy

Rural economy has been characterized by low incomes and self-consumption production. With the expansion of global markets and the access of customers through internet, the possibility of moving traditional markets to e-commerce increases. This expansion allows the inclusion of rural economy into the e-commerce market. This chapter describes the challenges to be overtaken in order to activate rural economy through e-commerce. The chapter is organized in five sections: The first section focuses on the communication infrastructure available in rural areas. In the second section, the current state and challenges to be addressed for guaranteeing on time delivery are presented. The third section describes payment methods. The fourth section presents schemes of organization required into the communities to guarantee the quality of products. Finally, marketing, advertising, and social networks are discussed.