Internet, cooperativismo agrario y desarrollo rural. El caso de las cooperativas de la Comunidad Valenciana

The application of new technologies through the Internet -services that constitute the Information and Knowledge Society- is a key factor in territorial cohesion and socio-economic structuring, although the encouragement and support of the public authorities, technology companies and the inhabitants of rural areas themselves is also essential. Within this context, agricultural cooperatives can play an important role, based on their own principles, as they are companies with strong connections in the region and with a leading role in the economy of their area of influence, thus contributing to rural development. In fact, approximately 70% of the agricultural cooperatives in the Valencia Region are based in towns of less than 10,000 inhabitants. However, very few of the first-degree cooperatives in the agricultural sector, the most numerous cooperatives that are most directly linked with the rural environment, are on the Internet. In the province of Valencia, not even 10% have their own Website, and those that do have modest levels of popularity and focus entirely on describing their business activity, without sufficiently exploring the potential of this Internet tool for cooperatives and rural development.