李寧的外文翻譯

1、畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)）外文翻譯 題目： 農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)的出現(xiàn) 系部名稱： 經(jīng)濟(jì)管理系 專業(yè)班級(jí)： 營銷082 學(xué)生姓名： 李 寧 學(xué) 號(hào)： 200880424231 指導(dǎo)教師： 楊子卿 教師職稱： 教 授 2011年12月30日農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)的出現(xiàn)羅夫.A.E米勒引言電子商務(wù)被重新定義為做生意的規(guī)則，它的未來是很可觀的，誰能夠早點(diǎn)抓住它，將成為贏家，但那些瞻前顧后、猶豫不定的人將會(huì)錯(cuò)失這些。這是新的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)者們不斷告訴我們，股票價(jià)格點(diǎn)，串口飆升。2000年4月，當(dāng)股票價(jià)格急劇下降時(shí)，一些有趣的事情結(jié)束了，但這并不代表電子商務(wù)的結(jié)束。在加利福尼亞以及世界各地，電子商務(wù)滲透到農(nóng)業(yè)中。到2000年，二十五分之一

2、的美國農(nóng)場(chǎng)已經(jīng)在網(wǎng)上購買或出售農(nóng)產(chǎn)品（美國農(nóng)業(yè)部，農(nóng)業(yè)資源管理研究，1999）。戈德曼估計(jì)，在美國，2004年有百分之十二的農(nóng)業(yè)銷售在網(wǎng)上進(jìn)行，相比之下，1999年只有百分之四。電子商務(wù)在農(nóng)業(yè)的出現(xiàn)引發(fā)很多問題：什么樣的電子商務(wù)商業(yè)最適合農(nóng)業(yè)市場(chǎng)？電子商務(wù)對(duì)農(nóng)場(chǎng)，龍頭企業(yè)，市場(chǎng)，和農(nóng)業(yè)社區(qū)有什么影響？有唯一的勝者或失敗者嗎？如果有，他們是誰？政府做了什么支持或反對(duì)農(nóng)業(yè)中的電子商務(wù)？，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人應(yīng)該做些什么準(zhǔn)備好自己的農(nóng)業(yè)和農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)？由于電子商務(wù)仍然是不斷變化的，所以現(xiàn)在想要有明確的答案還為之過早。然而，現(xiàn)在所實(shí)施的檢查表明，獨(dú)特的模式出現(xiàn)在農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)和我們所看到的已經(jīng)可以幫助預(yù)測(cè)未來的發(fā)展和

3、影響的這種新的經(jīng)營方式。這個(gè)問題簡(jiǎn)要地提供了一些背景，一些當(dāng)今的實(shí)事以及電子商務(wù)在農(nóng)業(yè)中的作用。正文： 無論是不是農(nóng)業(yè)，我們都簡(jiǎn)單地把電子商務(wù)定義為企業(yè)在網(wǎng)上的交易。這一定義允許許多不同的方式開展業(yè)務(wù)。交易會(huì)涉及到貨物，服務(wù)，或權(quán)利義務(wù)。付款可以在線或從因特網(wǎng)上。訪問互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的溝通渠道在電子商務(wù)中的應(yīng)用往往是向所有人開放，但有時(shí)也有所限制，信息的交換有很嚴(yán)格的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化，像是電子數(shù)據(jù)的交換。電子商務(wù)交易分類通常是根據(jù)合作伙伴消費(fèi)者，企業(yè)，政府三種類型的合作伙伴，六種組合都是可能的，但只有兩種是現(xiàn)在最重要的：企業(yè)對(duì)消費(fèi)者以及企業(yè)對(duì)企業(yè)。這兩種類型，企業(yè)對(duì)費(fèi)者電子商務(wù)現(xiàn)在引了大部分人的注意。1、 農(nóng)業(yè)電

4、子商務(wù)的準(zhǔn)備條件 參與電子商務(wù)需要，買家和賣家都有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入，他們能夠有效的使用所要求的硬件和軟件。此外，該部分的電子商務(wù)，是觀察到第三方是在萬維網(wǎng)上的網(wǎng)絡(luò)，其中至少有一方的交易必須經(jīng)營一個(gè)網(wǎng)站。最常見的網(wǎng)站是由更專業(yè)的人在一個(gè)特定類型的交易，如賣方或買方的農(nóng)場(chǎng)農(nóng)業(yè)投入產(chǎn)出。專業(yè)程度較低的群體，例如農(nóng)民，只需要為參與電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站上而訪問互聯(lián)網(wǎng)即可。在網(wǎng)站上，對(duì)于什么是可利用的這一問題，是不可能得到一個(gè)完整的、當(dāng)前意義上的概念。例如，搜索加利福尼亞雅虎網(wǎng)“黃頁”取得的五百的運(yùn)作中的“農(nóng)業(yè)”和“食品和飲料”部分與加利福尼亞農(nóng)業(yè)網(wǎng)站相聯(lián)系。約半數(shù)的這些鏈接的酒廠，和另外60個(gè)小農(nóng)場(chǎng)提供企業(yè)對(duì)消費(fèi)者的

5、電子商務(wù)。企業(yè)對(duì)企業(yè)的電子商務(wù)也明顯地存在著?？偛课挥诩又莸墓镜膹V告和提供各種產(chǎn)前和產(chǎn)后的產(chǎn)品為農(nóng)服務(wù)。然而，盡管雅虎搜索產(chǎn)生大量鏈接到各種網(wǎng)站，它肯定不是一個(gè)詳盡的清單是加利福尼亞省農(nóng)業(yè)龍頭企業(yè)。它與一些加利福尼亞的主要農(nóng)業(yè)企業(yè)和合作社取得了聯(lián)系，例如考爾科特和和藍(lán)色鉆石，但令人驚訝的是一些其他的，例如香吉士晨星。此外，即使一個(gè)完整的清單在今天也是有用的，它將成為過時(shí)的明天。國家農(nóng)業(yè)統(tǒng)計(jì)服務(wù)局所公布的數(shù)據(jù)表明，在1999年美國百分之二十九的農(nóng)場(chǎng)進(jìn)入網(wǎng)上貿(mào)易?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)的普及在農(nóng)業(yè)部門的大多數(shù)國家低于美國和城鄉(xiāng)鴻溝的存在。加利福尼亞排名高的國家之間在使用電腦和網(wǎng)絡(luò)：在擁有電腦農(nóng)場(chǎng)之間（55%）它

6、名列第六，其次在分享的農(nóng)場(chǎng)，使用電腦的農(nóng)場(chǎng)企業(yè)（40%），第三在分享與互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入占百分之四十六。在最近幾年，這些百分比已大大增加。在1997年和1999年之間加利福尼亞農(nóng)場(chǎng)的股份與互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入有一倍之多。對(duì)農(nóng)民用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的統(tǒng)計(jì)證明，還是很罕見的。羅克韋爾的一個(gè)使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的研究，大約有400個(gè)商業(yè)農(nóng)民發(fā)現(xiàn)，農(nóng)民主要使用“網(wǎng)”獲得的信息商品價(jià)格，天氣，農(nóng)用化學(xué)品，機(jī)械。研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，農(nóng)民快速轉(zhuǎn)換到電子交易，用來購買種子，農(nóng)作物化學(xué)品，機(jī)械。2、 電子商務(wù)在農(nóng)業(yè)上的應(yīng)用 網(wǎng)絡(luò)有多種結(jié)合方式的用途。例如：顯示可以是靜態(tài)的或者是動(dòng)態(tài)的、搜尋特定的產(chǎn)品可以輔之以一個(gè)搜索功能、聲音可以添加、以信用卡付款可能成為現(xiàn)

7、實(shí)、加密可以提高安全交易等。結(jié)果是一個(gè)不斷發(fā)展的、多元組電子商務(wù)用途和商業(yè)模式。旨在多樣化的農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)實(shí)踐模式正在涌現(xiàn)。其多樣性的原因，與其說是技術(shù)能力，不如說是經(jīng)濟(jì)利益以及互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上其他市場(chǎng)的必需。所以我們集團(tuán)農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站根據(jù)他們顯而易見的經(jīng)濟(jì)目的分為四類：（一）、節(jié)約交易成本（二）、電子市場(chǎng)中介（三）、電子商務(wù)綜合服務(wù)部（四）、提供電子商務(wù)配套服務(wù)大多數(shù)網(wǎng)站提供的一些目的和例子只是象征?？赡苓€有其他的農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站能更好地代表公司。 （一）、節(jié)約交易成本交易包括信息交易、商品交易，金錢交易。在傳統(tǒng)的交易中，因媒介的不同被分為這三種交易。例如：有物理信號(hào)來顯示產(chǎn)品的功能，以視覺，觸覺來

8、核查，溝通交換條件，以及用紙幣或金屬貨幣作為支付手段。然而在電子商務(wù)中，所有信息，錢，甚至商品，被轉(zhuǎn)換成二進(jìn)制數(shù)字或位，可以以光速在距離很長(zhǎng)的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上傳播，其邊際成本為零?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)可以降低交易成本，或轉(zhuǎn)讓費(fèi)用，或兩者兼而有之。當(dāng)買家和賣家的搜索便利，當(dāng)成本調(diào)整張貼價(jià)格降低，當(dāng)?shù)赜蚍蛛x的買家和賣家之間的談判便利，當(dāng)監(jiān)測(cè)更容易實(shí)現(xiàn)時(shí)，交易成本降低。當(dāng)交易涉及的商品可以被數(shù)字化，如金錢，信息產(chǎn)品，權(quán)利與義務(wù)，轉(zhuǎn)移成本將會(huì)被存儲(chǔ)在交易成本的頂部。此外，因?yàn)樵诨ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)上的溝通成本很大程度上是一個(gè)在發(fā)送者和接收者之間的獨(dú)立的數(shù)據(jù)量和距離，因此，地理上的距離在搜索和談判中無關(guān)緊要。最后，當(dāng)信息被數(shù)字化，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)對(duì)

9、交易成本有著深刻的影響。例如：?；蛐迈r農(nóng)產(chǎn)品通過數(shù)字視頻被賣出而不是實(shí)物展示。、通過電子商務(wù)節(jié)約成本是穩(wěn)固的。例如：交易成本在銀行業(yè)從1.3美元的柜臺(tái)交易將為0.27美元的在線交易（NUA，2000）。福特公司希望利用其新開發(fā)的采購平臺(tái)，把采購費(fèi)用從每宗交易100美元降低到10美元（經(jīng)濟(jì)周刊2000）。從電子商務(wù)在農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)中節(jié)約成本尚未被報(bào)告過，但是沒有理由期待他們?cè)谵r(nóng)業(yè)上能比其他行業(yè)減少的更多。有時(shí)在節(jié)約采購成本的同時(shí)，與之相伴的是電子商務(wù)的價(jià)格折扣。由于體制服務(wù)和產(chǎn)品不能通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)傳送，只能節(jié)省部分交易費(fèi)用。信息數(shù)字化產(chǎn)品，是電子商務(wù)的頭號(hào)候選人。幾個(gè)農(nóng)業(yè)信息提供者在線提供產(chǎn)品。信息往往包

10、括天氣預(yù)報(bào)，新聞，市場(chǎng)信息，有時(shí)得有買方?jīng)Q定。一些現(xiàn)行市場(chǎng)供應(yīng)一系列農(nóng)產(chǎn)品，其他的提供對(duì)農(nóng)作物和家畜的預(yù)測(cè)和數(shù)據(jù)。一些網(wǎng)站巧妙利用網(wǎng)站，而不是直接傳遞信息，提供超連接，影響用戶網(wǎng)站的業(yè)務(wù)和市場(chǎng)信息。農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)管理和咨詢服務(wù)也可在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上進(jìn)行。例如：某些網(wǎng)站提供管理支持工具，如土壤分析數(shù)據(jù)，農(nóng)場(chǎng)的數(shù)據(jù)管理和定位數(shù)據(jù)，農(nóng)場(chǎng)和野外地圖，作物模型，種植建議，以及存儲(chǔ)和銷售跟蹤系統(tǒng)。類似的智能網(wǎng)站也可用于家畜生產(chǎn)商，在其他事情上，也可以幫助偵測(cè)家畜群體中的疾病。目前還不清楚是否有任何產(chǎn)品，服務(wù)或權(quán)利不能在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上部分或全部的進(jìn)行交易。農(nóng)業(yè)商品公司通過展示一個(gè)目錄或產(chǎn)品提供網(wǎng)上銷售機(jī)構(gòu)的數(shù)量越來越多。甚至一些

11、舊經(jīng)濟(jì)目錄公司也已經(jīng)轉(zhuǎn)向網(wǎng)絡(luò)。農(nóng)業(yè)也在網(wǎng)上提供經(jīng)濟(jì)服務(wù)，如網(wǎng)上銀行及金融、財(cái)產(chǎn)保險(xiǎn)、農(nóng)場(chǎng)管理服務(wù)以及農(nóng)場(chǎng)銷售的買家代表。（二） 、電子市場(chǎng)中介當(dāng)運(yùn)用市場(chǎng)的成本下降，這種情況在電子商務(wù)中，一些公司通過市場(chǎng)進(jìn)行公司內(nèi)部的協(xié)調(diào)。這是真正的生產(chǎn)活動(dòng)以及信息和貿(mào)易活動(dòng)。因此，減少交易成本不會(huì)消除市場(chǎng)中介組織，就像一些學(xué)者的“無摩擦電子商務(wù)”預(yù)測(cè)。相反，降低交易成本會(huì)鼓勵(lì)新的和不同的市場(chǎng)中介活動(dòng)。新經(jīng)濟(jì)的信徒凱文凱利說：“網(wǎng)絡(luò)是中介組織的搖籃?！毕旅嬗兴念愔薪槿耍?、 供應(yīng)商分類廣告和目錄服務(wù)2、 比賽制造商3、 市場(chǎng)提供4、 拍賣行1、供應(yīng)商分類廣告和目錄服務(wù) 互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是需求是巨大的，要找到它所需要的是一

12、個(gè)苦差事。但是搜索可以為提供商輕松提供經(jīng)常從事產(chǎn)品的種類廣告和目錄服務(wù),如牲畜（www.agriads），活植物材料（www.findplants），農(nóng)場(chǎng)勞動(dòng)（；www.agnet），地面和地表水（www.waterrightsmarket），或組合的類別（）2、比賽制造商這種服務(wù)更多的信息比目錄，他們利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的互動(dòng)能力。比賽制造商試圖連接買家和賣家來提供具體的產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)。他們利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的互動(dòng)能力提供服務(wù)，這樣的服務(wù)將比目錄服務(wù)提供更多的信息。例如，購買新的和使用農(nóng)業(yè)設(shè)備也可以提交請(qǐng)求報(bào)價(jià)。這個(gè)請(qǐng)求是再交由參與零售商人反過來提交報(bào)價(jià)。然后買家提交航運(yùn)和信用卡信息，賣方

13、由買方選擇進(jìn)行交易。同樣的, 由一些大型農(nóng)業(yè)產(chǎn)業(yè)化企業(yè)建立的一個(gè)網(wǎng)站,將購買農(nóng)業(yè)投入與當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)銷商的輸出連接起來。3、市場(chǎng)提供在電子市場(chǎng)下是允許買家和賣家交流和討論關(guān)于產(chǎn)品信息及價(jià)格。許多人經(jīng)過談判后獲得滿意的價(jià)格。美國農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)市場(chǎng)大約可以追溯到1975年。例如，棉花的電子商務(wù)交易自1976由Telco引起（(Lindsey，1990），以及一個(gè)早期電子銷售農(nóng)產(chǎn)品的繁榮在出現(xiàn)在70年代末和80年代初（亨德森，1984）。然而，由于這些系統(tǒng)不使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，他們將無法進(jìn)入大多數(shù)市場(chǎng)。一旦因特網(wǎng)向商業(yè)應(yīng)用開放，企業(yè)家就開始競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，提供各種農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)市場(chǎng)的設(shè)計(jì)以及一系列農(nóng)業(yè)投入和產(chǎn)出，這只是一個(gè)時(shí)間問

14、題。一些電子商務(wù)者專注于加利福尼亞是唯一的或主要的生產(chǎn)者的作物，包括葡萄酒，核桃，杏仁，葡萄干，李子和加工番茄（，www.agex。”）。電子商務(wù)市場(chǎng)也包括有肉類和家禽（www.sellmeat?！保?，玉米，小麥，大豆，大米，谷物和其他（）易腐農(nóng)作物（www.tradingproduce）以及農(nóng)業(yè)化學(xué)品（www.directag），其他農(nóng)業(yè)投入（www.agriplace）和一些允許輸入和輸出的交易（www.folnetworks）。然而許多電子商務(wù)市場(chǎng)是為農(nóng)業(yè)，農(nóng)民和農(nóng)場(chǎng)主提供服務(wù)的，只有一些是針對(duì)零售商農(nóng)產(chǎn)品（www.agribuy）和其他批發(fā)商（www.tradingproduce）。最

15、讓加利福尼亞農(nóng)民感興趣的是加利福尼亞農(nóng)場(chǎng)局聯(lián)合會(huì)提供一個(gè)市場(chǎng)，對(duì)有400個(gè)以上農(nóng)業(yè)商品交易和成員的有免費(fèi)使用權(quán)。一種廣泛的認(rèn)知：互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的開放性,必須想辦法讓電子商務(wù)比傳統(tǒng)市場(chǎng)更為開放和透明。不需要這樣想。在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上提供的信息可以是私有的、個(gè)性化的信息。這是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)一個(gè)可取的特點(diǎn)。顯然，私人談判和未公開的市場(chǎng)價(jià)格對(duì)價(jià)格的透明形成和信息內(nèi)容的價(jià)格統(tǒng)計(jì)沒有幫助。4、拍賣行 拍賣市場(chǎng)是按照一定的規(guī)則公開談判價(jià)格的地方。許多農(nóng)業(yè)投入和產(chǎn)出已經(jīng)在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上涌現(xiàn)出電子拍賣。有拍賣家畜（www.onlinelivestockauction）、谷物和飼料（www.icecorp）、干草（www.hayexchange

16、）、農(nóng)產(chǎn)品（www.farmbid）以及設(shè)備配件（www.xsag）?？赡苓€有更多的農(nóng)業(yè)項(xiàng)目將在網(wǎng)上拍賣。 區(qū)分拍賣的往往他們的投標(biāo)規(guī)則。在英語拍賣中,買家一直可以投標(biāo)直到只剩一個(gè)買方。在荷蘭拍賣中,相比之下,要求的價(jià)格降低到最急切的買家接受；在雙向拍賣中，買家增加其投標(biāo)而賣家降低價(jià)格，直到他們的要求達(dá)到匹配。一個(gè)變種流行的電子商務(wù)拍賣，根據(jù)買家的需求、買家的出價(jià)競(jìng)標(biāo)購買他們?cè)敢赓徺I物品。但是目前在使用的電子商務(wù)拍賣選擇競(jìng)價(jià)規(guī)則中還沒有明確的趨勢(shì)。 （三）、電子商務(wù)綜合服務(wù)部有幾個(gè)網(wǎng)站本身作為農(nóng)業(yè)“門戶網(wǎng)站”，試圖提供一系列的信息服務(wù)以及市場(chǎng)中介。訪問者可以輕易地從一個(gè)網(wǎng)站通過超鏈接到另一個(gè)網(wǎng)

17、站，它可能是一組高度專業(yè)化的網(wǎng)站鏈接的網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)的形成。最近創(chuàng)建的網(wǎng)站，vTraction（www.vtraction），是一個(gè)門戶網(wǎng)站，可以讓訪客看到幾個(gè)專業(yè)的電子商務(wù)市場(chǎng)。 由于大多數(shù)農(nóng)產(chǎn)品無法數(shù)字化，如果充分利用電子商務(wù)，那么整合倉儲(chǔ)，運(yùn)輸，商檢與保險(xiǎn)服務(wù)都是可以實(shí)現(xiàn)的。這樣的服務(wù)是提供專業(yè)服務(wù)（，www.dhl-）或者更經(jīng)常地通過市場(chǎng)中介機(jī)構(gòu)提供（www.foodtrader）。 （四）、電子商務(wù)支持服務(wù)參與電子商務(wù)需要公司在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上會(huì)出現(xiàn)在自己的網(wǎng)站。對(duì)農(nóng)民和小型企業(yè)，往往不會(huì)有先進(jìn)的網(wǎng)站和一個(gè)重要的主頁圍棋提供服務(wù)。然而卻有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)集中在農(nóng)業(yè)的供應(yīng)商提供信息和市場(chǎng)中介服務(wù)為這些用戶提供

18、服務(wù)（ )。對(duì)于要求更高的農(nóng)民和農(nóng)業(yè)企業(yè)，也有專門的編程網(wǎng)站為農(nóng)業(yè)產(chǎn)業(yè)提供服務(wù)。三 結(jié)語蓬勃的創(chuàng)業(yè)精神和強(qiáng)大的網(wǎng)絡(luò)預(yù)示著農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)實(shí)踐和商業(yè)模式已進(jìn)入靜態(tài)模式了，他們還阻止任何試圖準(zhǔn)確地預(yù)測(cè)具體的趨勢(shì)的發(fā)展。但是無法預(yù)測(cè)未來電子商務(wù)、農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)沒有未來不應(yīng)被當(dāng)做錯(cuò)誤的論點(diǎn)。相反，我們應(yīng)該留意有關(guān)規(guī)則的預(yù)測(cè)。一個(gè)規(guī)則由未來研究所的保羅沙弗說：“最重要的規(guī)則其實(shí)是我學(xué)到的不要由于目光短淺而犯錯(cuò)誤?！绷硪粋€(gè)規(guī)則由沙弗的明確觀點(diǎn)提出：“不要由于目光朦朧而犯錯(cuò)誤?！蔽覀儫o法預(yù)測(cè)在三至五年內(nèi)農(nóng)業(yè)電子商務(wù)將會(huì)發(fā)展成什么樣子，但是我們應(yīng)該確信電子商務(wù)的蓬勃發(fā)展和演變將在農(nóng)業(yè)和其他行業(yè)展現(xiàn)。附注：本文摘譯自

19、“農(nóng)業(yè)問題研究中心”，加利福尼亞大學(xué)，2000年12月14日。原文：Emergent E-Commerce in AgricultureRolf A.E. Mueller1E-commerce redefines the rules of doing business, its future is spectacular, those who embrace it early will be the winners but the hesitant will be obliterated. This is what New Economy pundits kept telling us whi

20、le share prices of dot. coms soared. When stock prices dropped sharply in April, 2000, some of the fun was over but that did not spell the end of e-commerce.E-commerce has penetrated agriculture in California as well as the rest of the world. By 2000, one in 25 U.S. farms had already bought or sold

21、agricultural products on the Internet (USDA, Agricultural Resource Management Study, 1999). Goldman Sachs estimates that 12% of all agricultural sales in the U.S. will be conducted over the Internet in 2004, compared to only 4% in 1999.The advent of e-commerce in agriculture raises many questions: W

22、hat e-commerce business models are best suited for which agricultural markets? What is the impact of e-commerce on farms, agribusiness firms, markets, and rural communities? Are there only winners or are there losers too? If so, who are they? What will government do to, with or against e-commerce in

23、 agriculture? And, what should leaders in agriculture do to ready themselves and the industry for e-commerce?Since e-commerce is still evolving, it is too early for definitive answers. An inspection of current practices, however, suggests that distinct patterns are emerging in agricultural e-commerc

24、e and what we see already may help foretell future developments and impacts of this new way of doing business. This Issues Brief provides some background, some current facts and some interpretation of the role of e-commerce in agricultureThe conceptWhether agricultural or not, we define e-commerce s

25、imply as business transactions conducted over the Internet. This definition allows for many different ways of conducting business. Transactions may involve material goods, immaterial services, or rights and obligations. Payment may be online or off the Internet. Access to Internet communication chan

26、nels used in e-commerce is often open to everyone but is sometimes restricted, and the messages exchanged may be rigidly standardized, as in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).E-commerce transactions are often classified according to the partners involved consumers, business, and government. With thr

27、ee types of partners, six combinations are possible but only two are presently important: business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). Of the two, B2C e-commerce currently receives most public attention. E-commerce readiness of agricultureParticipation in e-commerce requires that both

28、buyers and sellers have access to the Internet, and that they are able to use the required hardware and software effectively. Furthermore, the part of e-commerce that is observable to third parties is conducted on the World Wide Web of the Internet, where at least one party to a transaction must ope

29、rate a web site. Most often the web site is run by the more specialized party in a particular type of transaction, such as the sellers of farm inputs or the buyers of farm outputs. The less specialized party, such as the farmer, need only have access to the Internet in order to participate in e-comm

30、erce on the web.It is impossible to get a complete and current sense of what is available on the web. For example, a search through the “agriculture” and “food and beverages” sections of the California Yahoo Internet “Yellow Pages” yielded over 500 functioning links to California agricultural sites.

31、 About half of these links were to wineries, and another 60 were to small farms, with many offering B2C e-commerce. B2B e-commerce was also a significant presence, with California-based companies advertising and offering a variety of pre- and post-harvest productsand services for farmers. However, e

32、ven though the Yahoo search yielded a large number of links to a variety of sites, it was certainly not an exhaustive list of California agriculture and agribusiness firms. It yielded links to some of Californias major agricultural companies and cooperatives such as Calcot and Blue Diamond, but surp

33、risingly left out others such as Sunkist and Morning Star. Furthermore, even if a complete listing were available today, it would be out of date tomorrowData published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service show that 29 percent of U.S. farms had Internet access in 1999 (Fig. 1). Internet pe

34、netration in the agricultural sector of most states is below the U.S. total and a rural-urban divide exists (Bikson and Panis, 1999). California ranks high among the states in computer and Internet use: It ranks sixth in computer ownership among farms (55%), second in the share of farms that use com

35、puters for farm business (40%), and third in the share of farms with Internet access (46%). These percentages have increased considerably in recent years. As shown in Figure 1, the share of California farms with Internet access doubled between 1997 and 1999.Statistical evidence on farmers use of the

36、 Internet is rare. One study by Rockwell Research/FJIR () of Internet use by some 400 commercial farmers found that farmers primarily use the “Net” to access information on commodity prices, weather, farm chemicals, and machinery. The study also found that farmers are quick to make the switch to e-t

37、ransactions, specifically with regard to purchasing seed, crop chemicals, and machinery (NUA, 2000).E-commerce applications in agricultureThe web allows many uses that can be combined in many ways. For example, displays may be static or animated, search for specific products may be assisted by a sea

38、rch function, sound may be added, payment by credit card may be possible, encryption may enhance the security of transactions, etc. The result is an evolving, diverse set of e-commerce uses and business models. Amid the diversity and change, patterns of e-commerce practices in agriculture are emergi

39、ng. What provides order to the diversity is not so much technological capabilities and constraints as it is economic interests and necessities that are as valid on the Internet as in other markets. We therefore group agricultural e-commerce sites into four categories according to the economic purpos

40、e they apparently serve:n Saving transaction costn E-market intermediationn Integrating e-commerce servicesn Providing e-commerce support servicesMost sites serve several purposes and the examples are only indicative. There may be other agricultural ecommerce sites that better represent the group.Sa

41、ving transaction costsA transaction comprises flows of information, of merchandise, and of money. In conventional transactions different media are involved in the three flows. For example, there are physical displays signaling the availability of products, vision and touch for their inspection, prin

42、t to communicate the terms of exchange, and paper and metal as means of payment. In e-commerce, however, all information, money, and sometimes even the merchandise too, are transformed into binary digits or bits, which can be sent through the Internet over long distances at the speed of light and at

43、 zero marginal cost.The Internet may reduce transaction costs by lowering trading costs, or transfer costs, or both. Trading costs fall when search by buyers and sellers is facilitated, when the costs of adjusting posted prices are lowered, when negotiations between geographically separate buyers an

44、d sellers are facilitated, and when fulfillment can be monitored more easily. When transactions involve goods that can be digitized, such as money, information products, or rights and obligations, transfer costs are saved on top of trading costs. Furthermore, because communication costs on the Inter

45、net are largely independent of data volume and distance between sender and receiver, geographic distance is unimportant in search and negotiation. Finally, the Internet has the most profound impact on trading costs when information is digitized, e.g. when cattle or fresh produce are sold by digital

46、video rather than by physical display.Cost savings from e-commerce can be substantial. For example, transaction costs in the banking industry are reduced from $1.30 for a counter transaction to $0.27 for an online transaction (NUA, 2000), and the Ford Motor Company expects to reduce its purchasing c

47、osts from $100 to $10 per transaction by using its newly developed purchasing platform (Wirtschaftswoche, 2000). Cost savings from e-commerce in agriculture have not yet been reported, but there is no reason to expect them to be smaller in agriculture than in other industries. Sometimes savings in p

48、urchasing costs from e-commerce are accompanied by price discounts.Since physical services and products cannot be delivered through the Internet, only part of the transactions costs are saved. Digitized information products, in contrast, are prime candidates for e-commerce. Several agricultural info

49、rmation providers offer and deliver their products online. Often the information includes weather forecasts, news, and market intelligence, sometimes customizable by the buyer (; , ). Some supply current market prices for a range of farm products (), others offer forecasts and data on crops and live

50、stock (). Some sites make clever use of the web by, instead of directly delivering information, providing hyperlinks that lead users to sites with business and market information ().Agricultural management and consulting services are also available on the Internet. For example, some sites provide ma

51、nagement support tools such as analysis of soil data, database management for farm and site-specific data, farm and field maps, crop models, cropping recommendations, and storage and sales tracking systems (; ). Similar smart sites are also available for livestock producers who, among other things,

52、are helped to detect illnesses in a herd ().It is not clear whether there are any products, services, or rights that cannot be traded more conveniently by using the Internet for part or all of the transaction. A large and seemingly swelling number of agribusiness firms offer their wares with online

53、sales facilities or by showing a catalog of their products. Even some Old Economy catalog firms have moved to the web (). Business services for agriculture are also offered on the web, such as online banking and finance (), property insurance (), farm management services (), and buyer representation

54、 at farm sales ().E-commerce intermediariesWhen the costs of using the market fall, as is the case in e-commerce, some activities previously carried out within a firm will be coordinated through the markets (Coase, 1998). This is true for production activities as well as for information and trading

55、activities. Therefore, reductions in transaction costs will not eliminate market intermediaries, as some pundits of a “friction-free e-economy” predict. Rather, reduced transaction costs encourage new and different market intermediation activities. The New Economy apostle Kevin Kelly stated this as:

56、 “Networks are the cradle of intermediaries.”There are four categories of intermediaries:n Providers of classified ads and directory servicesn Match makersn Market place providersn AuctioneersProviders of classified ads and directory servicesThe web is vast and finding what is needed can be a chore.

57、 The search can be made easier by providers of classifieds and directory services that often specialize in product categories, such as livestock (), live plant material (), farm labor (; ), ground- and surface water (), or combinations of categories (; ;)Match makersMatch makers attempt to connect buyers and sellers of specific products and services. Such services are much more information-intensive than directo