Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture In response to an increasingly globalised food system, and the corresponding, social, environmental and health problems which it poses, communities around the world have been developing a different vision for food production and distribution. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a concept which encourages local, environmentally sustainable food production, and which supports both farmers and 'consumers' alike. CSA is a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm (producer) and a community of supporters (consumers) which provides a direct economic and social link between the production and consumption of food. Although CSA's take many forms, the essence is that supporters cover all, or part of a farm's yearly operating budget by purchasing a share of the season's harvest - up front. There is no agent or distributor between the customer and the farmer. All subscriber funds are directed to the Farm or activities, which support the community-supported agriculture Co-operative. One of the main benefits to farmers of CSA projects is that the risks of food production are shared with the people who benefit. Under the industrial, and increasingly globalised model of agriculture, farmers are subject to the whims of 'the market', which can be even more unpredictable than the weather or other natural disasters. With large mono-crops in particular, a single 'event', be it a market price drop, a hail storm, flood, insect plague or late frost, can often be enough to put a small farmer out of business.

community supported agriculture book — by CamWalker — last modified 2007-05-31 12:19

This booklet (30 pages) covers a wide range of issues relating to globalisation and sustainable agriculture as well as the specifics of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes.