A producer is the first step of every food chain or web. Producers get their energy directly from the environment around them. In general they do not consume any other organic matter directly. (An exception to this rule is carnivorous plants)

Producers are also known as Autotrophs, which means that they can produce their own food. They provide energy for all the heterotrophic organisms in their environment.

The main source of energy for producers is the Sun by means of photosynthesis; however some producers get their energy from the nutrients surrounding them, and not the sun, as in the case of deep sea ecosystems. Producers fill the first trophic level on a food web, chain, or pyramid.