By Jocelyn Parot, General Secretary of URGENCI
Community. Both Community Supported Agriculture and Community Seed Banks start with this word. It is not by chance: they are both community -based solution, relying on civic commitment.
Community Seed Banks (CSBs) are emerging as part of informal seed systems. Their goal is to counteract the loss of locally adapted crops through dynamic, collective management. Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) are community-based alliances of producers and consumers, providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.
They both look as if they were made to be combined. However, a study conducted within Dynaversity shows that the relationship between CSA and CSB is not perhaps as strong as expected, and that the actions combining both are lacking visibility. There is a slight feeling of a missed rendezvous…
How to turn this missed rendezvous between CSA and CSB into a “happy ending love story”?
Starting from this key question, a webinar was organized on the 15th of April, 2021, and the debate extended to related questions: are alternative food models like CSA fulfilling their promise of restoring farmers’ autonomy to cultivate their own seeds? How can CSA members take a more active part in the renewal and rebirth of diversity? How can Community Seed BanksembracetheCSA’smissionand support their activities ?
You may find some answers to these questions in the recorded version of the webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgpt7s3TQZ4&t=2501s
(You can also subsribe to URGENCI TV).
But you can also check the comprehensive webinar report (1.09 MB).
Photo credit: Italo Rondinella.
