Community Supported Agriculture : Towards a Flourishing Movement in Europe

Abstract: 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.