Collective farm shops and AMAP (French CSA) in southwest France. Commitment and delegation on the part of producers and consumers.

Local relations between producers and consumers are examined through the prism of two types of collective system: Associations pour le Maintien d’une Agriculture Paysanne (AMAP, french CSA, Community-Supported Agriculture) and Collective Farm Shops (CFS). We refer to a study of the Midi-Pyrénées region carried out in 2007. We make a particular study of what motivates consumers and producers alike. Having demonstrated the significant increase in the numbers of regional collectives schemes, we highlight a range of existing tensions in the way that these collectives and networks of collectives (CSA) operate. The combined CSA/CFS approach allows a better vision of the skills deficits encountered amongst producers who are required to play a number of different roles, and provides a definition of routine, the most natural agricultural situation encountered in a CSA-style partnership.

Sustainable Consumption and Alternative Agrifood Systems de Liège du 27 au 30 mai 2008.