Community Supported Agriculture Research Articles

Investigating consumers' experiences with community supported agriculture: Convergent parallel design methods.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) represents a collaborative model where local farms and community members form partnerships to facilitate the direct delivery of fresh produce from farms to consumers. This study primarily investigates the experiences of current CSA members, focusing on the key factors influencing their retention intentions. Employing a convergent parallel mixed methods approach, this study gathers and analyzes both quantitative data (such as factors affecting members' retention intentions) and qualitative data (derived from interviews reflecting members' perceptions of their CSA experiences). The integration of these datasets provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape CSA membership dynamics. The research findings underscore that Convenience, Product Quality, and Positive Interactions are pivotal factors that contribute to members' Intentions to continue their CSA memberships. These insights are crucial for enhancing the services provided to CSA members and hold significant implications for the broader scope of CSA membership research. This study not only fills a critical gap in understanding the Chinese CSA context but also contributes to the global discourse on sustainable agriculture practices and community engagement.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Perceptions of Local Food Market Channels

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on food systems. Despite disrupting conventional markets—such as grocery stores—farmers that focused on short supply chains found new market opportunities. As consumers increasingly became concerned with the safety of in-person shopping, some turned to purchasing directly from farmers and markets that carried products marketed as local, organic, and/or sustainable. With these changes in mind, I ask how consumer perceptions of local food systems (LFSs) changed in the two years after COVID-19. If consumers are more aware of local markets, farmers might reorient production to focus on local supply chains and sustainable production methods. To evaluate consumer perceptions, I use survey responses from residents in five communities in the US South in 2019 and 2022. Using a treatment effects model with propensity score matching, I show that residents became more aware of most local market channels, such as specialty retail stores and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Some residents were also more likely to have a positive perception of markets that provide fresh vegetables to low-income residents. Finally, residents wanted more investment into markets that make fresh, local products more available, such as community-owned groceries and CSA.

Съвременно състояние и динамика на породата Брезнишка овца в България

The aim is to establish the current state and dynamics of the Breznik sheep breed in Bulgaria. Information from studbooks, pedigree certificates, primary breeding documentation of the controlled part of the population and the reports of the „Association for Breeding of the Breznik Sheep“ for the period 2015-2023 were used. An analysis was made of the geographical distribution, the dynamics of the number of controlled animals for 9 year period, the possibilities for reproduction, the size and age structure of the herds. The organization „Association for Breeding of the Breznik Sheep“ carries out selection and control, as the only breeding organization working with the Breznik sheep breed at the moment, which numbers 4136 sheep. This fact is a prerequisite for the organization of effective breeding work. The share of farms with flock between 100 and 150 animals is the largest. Controlled sheep are raised on 16 farms in 4 regions of the country, with an average of 259 sheep per farm. The number of young breeding animals is low and provides 16.2% reproduction of ewes and 15.7% of rams. This low percentage of reproduction implies a relatively low selection differential for the main productive traits, resp. less effect of selection. Therefore, it is advisable to leave a larger number of young animals for breeding, which will enable a more precise selection.

Joining the ideational and the material: transforming food systems toward radical food democracy

This paper presents a conceptualization of radical food democracy (RFD) which links the diverse economies approach of Gibson-Graham with Tully’s notion of diverse citizenship. Despite its invaluable contribution to theorizing the role of alternative food networks (AFNs) in transforming unsustainable industrial food systems, the diverse economies scholarship has been criticized for essentializing the autonomy of alternative economic practices—hence risking to confound emancipatory social change with punctuated forms of “local,” “quality,” “organic certified” products, which nevertheless remain embedded in market-mediated capitalist relations, and displacement and/or deferral of negative impacts. This paper aims to address such critiques, contending that the realization of RFD requires both (1) the experimentation with new economic practices that carve out food economies alternative to the working logic of capital accumulation, and (2) the cultivation of new political subjects capable of universalizing these particular struggles. After situating various existing practices associated with food democracy in a framework of various modes of democratic citizenship, we underpin our understanding of RFD with a theory of change informed by Bob Jessop’s strategic-relational approach to social structures, agents’ reflexive actions, and their contingency. Following a critical scientific approach to the social role of academics, this theoretical framework is illustrated using a case study from Germany. The empirical work draws on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with leaders of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) cooperatives and Food Policy Council (FPC) networks conducted in Cologne, Berlin, and Frankfurt in 2018–2020. To conclude, this paper argues that the emancipatory potential of food democracy should cultivate both lighthouse alternative economic practices that are connected with people’s everyday lives, and political imagination that dares to critically engage with existing institutions. Likewise, RFD praxis requires a constant back and forth between the ideational and the practical, the abstract and the concrete, the actionable and the analytical, to challenge both the symbolic-discursive and the material dimensions of capitalist agri-food systems.

Analisis Efisiensi Saluran Pemasaran Jamur Tiram Putih (Studi Kasus di Desa Banjar Dewa Kecamatan Banjar Agung Kabupaten Tulang Bawang)

The aim of this study is to analyze the marketing channels for white oyster mushrooms and the efficiency of marketing channels for white oyster mushrooms in Banjar Dewa Village, Banjar Agung District, Tulang Bawang Regency. This type of study is descriptive qualitative research. The population of all farmers cultivating white oyster mushrooms is 14 people in Banjar Dewa Village, Banjar Agung District, Tulang Bawang Regency, with a sampling technique using Purposive Sampling with a sample of one farmer cultivating white oyster mushrooms with the criteria of producing the largest white oyster mushroom cultivation in the area. The method for collecting data in the following research is observation and interviews. The analysis technique in the following research uses marketing cost analysis, marketing margin, marketing profit, and marketing efficiency. The results of this research show that there are two marketing channel patterns for white oyster mushrooms, namely the first channel pattern, farmers sell white oyster mushrooms directly to end consumers, and the second channel pattern, farmers sell to retailers and then the retailers sell them back to end consumers. The marketing margin value in the first channel pattern is IDR 0, while marketing in the second channel pattern is IDR 11,000. The farmer's share value in the first channel pattern is 100%, the second channel pattern is 56%. The two marketing channels for white oyster mushrooms are said to be efficient in terms of marketing margin and farmer's share. The most efficient marketing channel for white oyster mushrooms is the first marketing channel with the lowest margin value and the highest farmer's share value.

Marketing Channel Analysis, Marketing Margins, and Farmer's Share Cinnamon Commodity in Sungai Penuh City, Jambi Province, Indonesia

The cinnamon commodity is quite significant in the economy of Sungai Penuh City, but farmers have not felt its role in improving welfare. The fundamental problems faced by cinnamon farmers in Sungai Penuh City are the weak bargaining position of farmers in the pricing process due to lack of access to price information, the attachment of farmers to collecting traders, and the limited ability of farmers to develop processed cinnamon products allegedly resulting in farmers only getting a small profit from sales. Traders, collectors, and exporters process more to meet domestic and foreign market demand. For this reason, an analysis of the existing condition of marketing margins and farmers' share of cinnamon commodities in Sungai Penuh City is needed. The purpose of this study is to analyze cinnamon marketing margins between farmers, collecting traders and exporters in each marketing channel in Sungai Penuh City, analyze the amount of farmers share obtained by farmers in each cinnamon marketing channel in Sungai Penuh City, and analyze cinnamon marketing functions in the form of physical functions, exchange functions and facility functions between farmers, Collecting traders and exporters in Sungai Penuh City. To answer the study's objectives, the author uses marketing margin analysis methods, profit margin analysis, farmer's share analysis, and marketing function approaches in physical, exchange, and facility functions. This research method uses a qualitative descriptive approach, and the informants in this study are determined by purposive sampling. The results showed that as many as 60 percent of cinnamon farmers in Sungai Penuh City chose and 40 percent chose the two-actor marketing channel. In contrast, the cinnamon marketing channel involving three marketing actors showed that the marketing system was inefficient. In contrast, the cinnamon marketing channel involving two marketing actors showed that the cinnamon marketing system in Sungai Penuh City was efficient.

A Culturally Specific Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program to Improve Diet in Immigrant Communities in Brooklyn, New York.

Anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiment has surged in the country in the last 3 years. Food insecurity is also on the rise; in our local needs assessment of n = 1,270 Asian American adults in New York City, accessing food was cited as the number 1 priority among those who needed help. Finally, racial discrimination and food access are related to fear of being attacked-driving feelings of safety and therefore willingness to travel for food. To combat these narratives and leveraging pivots by our community partners, we implemented a community-supported agriculture pilot program (n = 38) to assess whether culturally appropriate food access can improve diet and foster cross-cultural learning among immigrant families in Brooklyn, NY. Over a 20-week period from June to October 2022, participants received Chinese-specific produce and nutrition education. Participants reported eating more and a greater variety of vegetables and had higher vegetable intake measured via skin carotenoid scores. This pilot may inform the adaptation of nutrition interventions to reduce inequities in chronic diseases in immigrant communities.

Placing community supported agriculture in local food systems

ABSTRACT Community supported agriculture (CSA) has grown in recent years as a marketing and distribution option for farmers. CSA involves ‘shareholders’ subscribing to a regular share of a farm’s harvest. The experiential structure of CSA provides opportunities for farmers to develop relationships with consumers and strengthen their local food systems (LFSs). By bringing consumer perspectives into view, LFS development personnel and other stakeholders may better understand where their residents place value within their unique systems. In this manuscript, we focus on the place of CSA in LFSs. Using survey responses from 13 communities in the Southeastern United States, we ask how different aspects of LFSs are perceptually linked to CSA by consumers. From these responses, residents seem to be more aware of CSA if they have knowledge about other direct markets – such as farmers markets or specialty retail stores – or are exposed to local food campaigns and branding efforts. Similarly, residents more positively evaluate CSA performance if they have similar evaluations of direct markets and experience with on-farm activities. These patterns differ depending on the location of the respondent. We see a role for place-based LFS promotion activities and consumer education programmes in most communities.

Introducing an integrative evaluation framework for assessing the sustainability of different types of urban agriculture

ABSTRACT In cities, a mosaic of different types of urban agriculture can be found. However, knowledge about advantages and disadvantages of the different types is still fragmented. This paper introduces an integrative evaluation framework for assessing the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of urban agriculture by applying a multi-criteria analysis based on an Analytic Hierarchy Process and a participatory approach. Based on a German case study and on the examples of vertical farming and community-supported agriculture, the results suggest that sustainable urban agriculture is a multi-dimensional approach informed by strong sustainability that places nature in the focus. Thus, the environmental dimension received the highest weight, followed by the social and, lastly, the economic dimension. Regarding the sub-criteria, species diversity achieved the highest total weight and food quality and safety the lowest. Conceptually, this paper provides scientific fundamentals for a systematic comparative evaluation of different types of agriculture for sustainable urban development.

Selective, reciprocal and quiet: lessons from rural queer empowerment in community-supported agriculture

AbstractRural queer studies, viewed through the lens of relational agriculture, offer critiques of heteropatriarchal norms in farming and highlight strategies used by queer farmers to manoeuvre discrimination and thrive in rural areas. This paper responds to recent calls for further scrutiny of the experiences of gender and sexually underrepresented groups in community-supported agriculture (CSA). It investigates the empowerment of rural queer people in CSA Guadiana, South Portugal, through the experiences of 12 queer members. I collected data through participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a focus group and analysed them through open coding, followed by focused coding. Results indicate that CSA Guadiana, despite not originally designed for this purpose, facilitates various forms of empowerment and active engagement among queer members, particularly influenced by the leadership of queer producers and recurrent gatherings in queer-owned farmland. Three key lessons of queer empowerment in CSA Guadiana emerge from the analysis and contribute to debates on the politics of recognition, queer community action and visibility in the rural context: (i) self-confidence to perform queerness may be restricted to a selective rural community; (ii) partnerships between producers and co-producers may enable reciprocal queer empowerment; and (iii) queer leadership in agri-food community action may quietly represent gender and sexual diversity in the countryside. These findings offer the rural queer literature novel insights into the complexities, contradictions and limitations of empowerment experienced by queer farmers, artisanal food producers and consumers in a rural CSA.

Assessing Healthy Effects between Local Level Farmer’s Markets and Community-Supported Agriculture and Physical Well-Being at the State Level

Much change has occurred in the recent past around food systems at the local level. As interest continues to rise, we were curious to examine connections of local food systems and well-being in the context of the places they operate at the state level. Health is a central component of food well-being. In this article, we focus on physical well-being. We explore the connection between food systems, as represented by farmers markets (FMs), community-supported agriculture (CSAs), and physical well-being using state level data. To investigate these relationships, we conducted an ordinal logistic regression model analyzing 2016 data from the United States Department of Agriculture for the 50 states. The results of this study suggest that there is an inconclusive relationship at the state level. While local FMs and CSAs may increase physical well-being at the state level, we did not find this in our study. This finding adds to the body of literature where the majority of the studies in this area are case studies, ethnographies, and smaller studies using some regional data and small samples for local data. We believe that this conceptual work will allow for future empirical studies to build upon this study to conduct further empirical work examining regional state and local datasets for more conclusive findings.

Women farmers and community well‐being under modeling uncertainty

AbstractWe examine the association between woman farmers and community well‐being using U.S. county‐level data. We address modeling uncertainty around three measures of community well‐being by using a spatial Bayesian model averaging approach and find that a higher share of farms operated or owned by women in a county is associated with higher rates of new business formation, longer life expectancies, and lower poverty rates. The results are consistent with a growing literature that finds women business owners approach their businesses more holistically, with positive community spillovers.

Designing a community-supported agriculture model for increasing food security.

The institutionalization of participation is a topic that has been discussed in different ways over the last few decades. There are many diverse aspects of the agricultural sector and rural communities that can be identified and used to bring about a major change in agriculture. Community supported agriculture (CSA) is one of the participatory and sustainable approaches that can be used in this regard. CSA is a relatively new socioeconomic model for producing food materials, increasing food security, improving the quality of food materials and conserving agricultural land, plants and animals. This research aimed to design a CSA model that was operationalized in Markazi province, Iran, with the aim of increasing food security. It was a survey study applied through a questionnaire. The statistical population (N=110) consisted of all active farmers in Ghazel Dareh village who were selected through the census method. The necessary information was collected through a questionnaire (84 of which were completed and returned) and analyzed using SPSS v. 25 and LISREL. The results showed that economic, socio-institutional, policy-making, educational and infrastructural factors significantly influenced the development of CSA. Infrastructural and socio-institutional factors with impact factors of 0.88 and 0.54 had the largest and smallest effect on CSA, respectively. Finally, since all impact factors were positive, we can say that improving each of these factors could improve the development of CSA in the study area.

Changing sustainable diet behaviours during the COVID-19 Pandemic: inequitable outcomes across a sociodemographically diverse sample of adults.

The objective of this study was to describe changes in sustainable dietary behaviours (those that support environmental, economic, and physical health) among a sample of US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine differences in changes by individuals' race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Therefore, a cross-sectional online survey study was conducted in April 2021 (N = 1,488, mean age = 42.7 (SD = 12.6)) receiving outpatient care from Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan health system. Enrolment quotas were established to ensure a diverse sample-one-third of participants identified as African American/Black, one-third Hispanic/Latino, one-third White, and one-third low-income. Participants reported engaging in more behaviours that are supportive of a sustainable diet one year into the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before. This is particularly true regarding ecologically and economically sustaining behaviours such as taking fewer trips to the grocery store, increased use of home grocery delivery, increased cooking at home, and greater consumption of healthy foods. Not all behaviour changes promoted sustainable food systems; namely, the use of farmer's markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) declined. White and high-income participants were more likely than African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and low-income individuals to engage in ecologically and economically sustainable dietary behaviours during the pandemic. Meanwhile, African American/Black participants reported large increases in physical health sustainable dietary behaviours. To support the continuation of greater engagement with sustainable diets, policies that increase access to public transportation, limit the frequency with which consumers have groceries delivered, increase work-from-home options, and improve access for low-income populations should be prioritised.

Insights from Japanese Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) for Building Resilient Local Food Systems in Sri Lanka

No abstract available

Analisis Pemasaran Beras Organik di Provinsi Sumatera Barat

Rice is one of the leading commodities for organic products, organic rice commodities are one of the widely consumed organic products. West Sumatra Province is one of the regions that have the largest organic rice land in Indonesia. The development of Organic Agriculture has become a policy of the West Sumatra Provincial Government since 2006. There are several problems in marketing organic rice, namely the lack of market access by farmers so that only a small portion of the harvest of organic rice farmers is absorbed as the final product of organic rice and the product is sold at the price of conventional rice. The purpose of this research was to determine and analyze the marketing efficiency and marketing operations (margin, farmer's share, and profit ratio) of organic rice in West Sumatra. The research location is decided by purposive method. To find farmer respondents using purposive sampling and trader respondents using snowball sampling. Qualitative descriptive analysis is used to analyze organic rice marketing channels. Meanwhile, quantitative descriptive is used to measure the marketing efficiency of organic rice using marketing margin analysis, and farmer's share. The results showed that organic rice marketing in West Sumatra consists of 4 marketing channels, which involve five marketing institutions, namely intermediary traders, large traders, city farmers, small-scale retailers, and large-scale retailers (supermarkets). Farmers - intermediary traders - wholesalers - small-scale retailers (channel 2) is the channel pattern chosen by most farmers which are 50%. The most efficient channel pattern is channel 4 because it is the shortest channel with the lowest margin of Rp. 5,500 and the highest farmer's share value of 50%.

JĒKABPILS DISTRICT, DIGNĀJA PARISH HOMESTEAD FARM "NORIEŠI" DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES OF GRAIN FARMING PRODUCTION

Jēkabpils district Dignājas parish homestead farm "Norieši" is a small farm specializing in the production of grain and livestock products. The share of small and medium-sized farms is dominant in the number of Latvian rural farms. One of the tasks of the agricultural policy of Latvia is to preserve and motivate the production and integration of small farmers in the market. The aim of the study is to analyze the development possibilities of agricultural production in the homestead farm "Norieši". In the work, the author evaluates the correspondence between the wishes and possibilities of the homestead farm, predicts the further development of the farm.

The potential impact of policies and structural interventions in reducing cardiovascular disease and mortality: a systematic review of simulation-based studies.

The aim of the study was to investigate the potential effect of different structural interventions for preventing cardiovascular disease. Medline and EMBASE were searched for peer-reviewed simulation-based studies of structural interventions for prevention of cardiovascular disease. We performed a systematic narrative synthesis. A total of 54 studies met the inclusion criteria. Diet, nutrition, tobacco and alcohol control and other programmes are among the policy simulation models explored. Food tax and subsidies, healthy food and lifestyles policies, palm oil tax, processed meat tax, reduction in ultra-processed foods, supplementary nutrition assistance programmes, stricter food policy and subsidised community-supported agriculture were among the diet and nutrition initiatives. Initiatives to reduce tobacco and alcohol use included a smoking ban, a national tobacco control initiative and a tax on alcohol. Others included the NHS Health Check, WHO 25 × 25 and air quality management policy. There is significant heterogeneity in simulation models, making comparisons of output data impossible. While policy interventions typically include a variety of strategies, none of the models considered possible interrelationships between multiple policies or potential interactions. Research that investigates dose-response interactions between numerous modifications as well as longer-term clinical outcomes can help us better understand the potential impact of policy-level interventions. The reviewed studies underscore the potential of structural interventions in addressing cardiovascular diseases. Notably, interventions in areas such as diet, tobacco, and alcohol control demonstrate a prospective decrease in cardiovascular incidents. However, to realize the full potential of such interventions, there is a pressing need for models that consider the interplay and cumulative impacts of multiple policies. Rigorous research into holistic and interconnected interventions will pave the way for more effective policy strategies in the future. The study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42019154836. This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme as award number 17/148/05.

Marketing Analysis of Quail Eggs in 3 Different Traditional Markets in Medan City

The demand for quail eggs in several regions of Indonesia is quite high. This study aims to determine the shape of marketing channels, marketing margins, farmer's share, marketing mix and marketing efficiency of quail eggs at three different traditional markets in Medan City. The research method used is observation and interviews with respondents using a questionnaire. Sampling was done by snowball sampling technique. The results showed that the form of marketing channels for quail eggs at three different traditional markets in Medan City, there are three channels, namely: channel 1 (Farmers - Consumers), channel 2 (Farmers - Retailers - Consumers), channel 3 (Farmers - Collectors - Retailers - Consumers). Marketing margin for quail eggs in three traditional markets, the smallest on channel 1 is Rp.0 and the largest on channel 3 is Rp.64. The highest farmer's share is on channel 1 of 100% and the lowest on marketing channel 3 is 83.91%. The product marketing mix offered is quail eggs. Prices are set by retailers. Promotion uses direct promotion. Locations for trading are spread. Distribution channels directly to consumers and through intermediaries. Supporting facilities not only sell quail eggs but other products. The most efficient marketing efficient channel 1 with a value of 0%. The most efficient forms of marketing channels, marketing margins, farmer's share and marketing efficiency are in marketing channel 1. Marketing channel 1 is free of charge and marketing institutions are involved and marketing channel 1 is found in the three traditional markets in Medan City.

Beef Marketing Analysis PT. Lembu Andalas Langkat Stabat

Marketing is all the factors that are responsible for beef being distributed from the production location to where beef are consumed. This study aims to identify the characteristics of marketing institutions, big agents and retailers/small agents marketing beef, beef marketing channels, analyze marketing margins, farmer's share, beef marketing costs, and analyze beef marketing efficiency at PT Lembu Andalas, Langkat. This research was conducted in July 2022 – August 2022. The sampling method chosen was snowball sampling, namely by following marketing channels from producers to consumers. Data was collected by using interview techniques using questionnaires. The results of this study indicate that there are two marketing channels. The smallest marketing margin is obtained in marketing channel II. The bigst farmer's share is obtained in marketing channel I. So it can be concluded that the first and second channels are efficient channels because they have an efficiency value of >1.