Community Supported Agriculture in Sweden and its transformative potential : A survey of farmers

Abstract: Modern agriculture has made great strides in terms of efficiency, yields, and profits, but has come to be characterised by a large environmental impact and resource use, global transports, poor working conditions, and a lack of contact between producers and consumers. In response to these concerns, many different initiatives commonly referred to as Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have been established to solve some or all of these issues. One such AFN is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where customers of the CSA farm rather become members and pay upfront for a whole season of produce, sharing risks amongst all members and the farmer. The CSA concept, or andelsjordbruk as it is commonly known in Swedish, is still fairly unestablished in Sweden despite a few farms having been in operation since the start of the 2000s. This study aims to research some of the details regarding active CSAs in the country, as well as their potential to affect the whole national food system. The study was conducted through an online survey that garnered 17 respondents, as well as an accompanying literature review of previous works dealing with CSAs and AFNs internationally, with a focus on Sweden. In addition to this, the results of the survey were analysed with the help of Multi-Level Perspective and social innovations perspective as previously applied to AFNs.  Results of the study solidify many of the conclusions drawn by previous works while showcasing the diversity of Swedish CSAs. Some key conclusions from the respondents of this survey include that only a few farms were started more than five years ago and the model has only risen in popularity over time. The farms are run by a few people with varying degrees of external help from members of the CSA or others, and they often have other sources of income outside of the CSA side of the business. The respondents view the CSA model favourably compared to other forms of sales, mainly due to the social connection with consumers, but struggle to make it financially sustainable and thus most want to continue growing and gaining more members. The farmers are driven by several aspects of sustainability, personal fulfilment, and a drive to educate and inspire others as well as changing the food system for the better. The effects of the covid-19 pandemic were mainly felt in events and personal meetings on the farms, striking some of the key parts of the CSA model.  From both the multi-level perspective and social innovations perspective, the CSA model has a potential to affect the Swedish food system as a whole due to its replicability and high focus on inspiration and education, spreading ideas and knowledge and building social capital outside of the rules of the corporate food regime. The uncertainties regarding long-term financial viability speak against it, but these uncertainties are lessened by the farms who have been operating in the CSA model for many years and managed to thrive.