摘要：Organic agriculture is still inexpressive in Brazil. Its relevance, however, has been growing significantly, following international trends. This study analyzes basic characteristics of organic producers, contribut-ing to the present level of knowledge on this matter in Brazil. Using pri-mary data on organic farmers of a region close to Curitiba, in the southern state of Paraná, we identify their main personal, technical and economic characteristics. Our sample farmers were divided into two groups: farm-ers in the stage of conversion toward organic agriculture and farmers already certified as organic producers. Results indicate the influence of the education level and of other professional experiences as key elements to characterize organic producers. Other relevant aspects are labor avail-ability and integration of farming, livestock and forest activities.
关键词：organic agriculture;characteristics of the producers;critical factors.
