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The Office for National Statistics revealed that in 2001 Wales had the lowest number of businesses with access to the Internet compared with the rest of the UK, whilst the number of businesses in Wales using e‐commerce was well exceeded by other regions. But is it time for Aesop to take another bow? According to the Interactive Bureau many of the FTSE‐100’s Web sites are “wallowing in mediocrity”, more than half “have serious problems that need fixing” and a further 16 “should be taken down” and “rebuilt from scratch”. Seeks to widen the policy debate, from one that concentrates solely on the adoption of e‐commerce by Welsh firms, to one that includes reflection on usability research world‐wide and promotes such research regionally to obtain and retain sustainable competitiveness. The current state of the Welsh economy in terms of the information and communications technology (ICT) revolution is examined, as is the scope and detail of the present policies that promote adoption and growth of e‐commerce by firms.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibilities of increasing the benefits to be derived from farmers markets (FMs) in Wales, through utilisation of networks augmented by information communications and technology (ICT). In particular, the paper explores recent developments in the use of ICT in the agri‐food sector and the need to develop networks to utilise such technology fully. The paper explores the administrative structures that may be required to allow these arrangements to be effectively organised. The use of FMs in Wales as a conduit for such networked arrangements, and the introduction of the South East Wales Association of Farmers’ Markets (SEWAFM) Web site, are then considered against this backdrop.