Community Supported Agriculture : Towards a Flourishing Movement in Europe

• Main Authors: Hoenninger, Jonathan, Costamilan, Lucas, Ochiai, Miyuki
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling 2019
• Subjects: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA); alternative food systems; Local Food Networks (LFN); industrial agriculture; strategic sustainable development; Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified; Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap; Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use; Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-18336

As a response to the growing global sustainability challenges related to industrial agriculture, alternative approaches of food production and distribution are emerging. One approach that fosters direct consumer-producer relationships and sustainable local food production is known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This study explored how the CSA movement can be supported strategically towards a flourishing movement in Europe. A qualitative research approach was chosen with a comparative element of the two countries with contrastive characteristics in terms of the degree of successfulness of the movement; with France being successful and Sweden having less success in terms of the number of CSAs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 CSA farmers, network members and researchers. The results revealed barriers and enablers for a flourishing movement under five overarching themes: (1) Definition, structure and operation (2) The direction of the movement (3) Social aspects (4) Knowledge and communication, and (5) Country-/region-specific aspects. Crucial factors and contrastive features between countries were identified and discussed in relation to how they hinder or enable a flourishing movement. Based on the findings, strategic guidelines were developed with the aim of contributing to CSA practitioners and leaders in Europe.