Afnic’s study: the online presence of agricultural professionals

Conducted by Afnic in partnership with MV2, this sector inquiry surveyed a panel of 1,002 French VSEs and SMEs in the agricultural industry between July and August 2025 via the “Réussir avec le web” online questionnaire. The data obtained were also compared with those emerging from Afnic’s “Réussir avec le web” 2025 global study [in French] conducted via its “Réussir en .fr” (“Succeed with .fr”) programme, which surveyed a panel of French micro-enterprises, VSEs and SMEs across all business sectors.

Internet is not the primary communication channel for most farmers

Taken as a whole, the agricultural sector is considerably less active online than the global study panel:

• Only 5% of farmers consider it necessary to have an online presence (compared with 77% in the global study);
• 48% responded that, although Internet can be useful in their line of work, they do not have “the time nor the resources” to dedicate to it (compared with 4% in the global study);
• Internet is primarily seen as a tool that allows you to be “found easily” (78% compared with 44% in the global panel) and to “present your activity”(59%, similar to the global study), well ahead of communication with customers (3% compared with 32%) or online sales (10% compared with 30%).

Online presence among farmers remains largely passive: it is first and foremost a response to basic needs – being found, presenting their activity –, without extending to more engaging uses such as communication or online sales, which remain in the minority.

Wine growers: a strong online presence in the agricultural world

In a sector where Internet remains generally on the sidelines, the online presence of wine growers notably exceeds the average:

• 79% of wine growers have a website, compared with 27% for farmers as a whole (and 61% for the global study panel);
• 92% have a social media account, compared with 65% of farmers as a whole (and 64% of the global panel).

Not only are they well equipped, but they use the Internet to effectively promote and develop their activity: Internet is becoming an important sales and customer loyalty channel for them, rather than just a simple profile-raising tool.

Digital identity: a firm preference for the .fr

Although the agricultural sector remains lacking in terms of websites and digital tools as a whole, those that have made the leap have adopted particularly well-structured practices, centred on the .fr Top-Level Domain (TLD) in particular.

Among the professionals with a website:

• 97% have their own domain name, compared with 90% of the global panel;
• .fr is the predominant choice (77% of websites, compared with 56% in the global study), well ahead of the .com TLD (22% compared with 37%);
• 47% have implemented a clear naming strategy, by registering their domain name under .fr and under other TLDs (.fr and .com and/or one or several TLDs), compared with 35% of the global panel.

The strong choice of the .fr notably reflects the importance of local presence within this sector: when structuring their digital identity, farmers naturally opt for the TLD that best represents their connection with the local community and local production.