Community Supported Agriculture makes inroads into China

An urbanite farmer tending to his small plot of land.

An urbanite farmer tending to his small plot of land.

BEIJING: The concept of Community Supported Agriculture is an alternative, locally-based socio-economic model of agriculture and food production.

Popular in Europe, Japan and the United States, the concept is now making preliminary inroads into China.

In a village northwest of Beijing, "farmers" are city dwellers who come during the weekends.

For about US$240 a year, urbanites get small plots of land to farm and grow their favorite produce.

Liu Mingyi, an urbanite farmer, said: "I grow maize, cherry tomatoes, bittergourds, tomatoes, scallions, brinjal, and two types of cucumbers."

Shi Huiyan, another urbanite farmer, said: "We grow cabbage, cauliflower, and we've already harvested celery, Chinese cabbage and spinach several times. With this small plot of land we don't have to buy any vegetables the entire summer." 

 Set up in 2009, Little Donkey Farm is China's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm.

 CSA began in the early 1960s in Germany and Switzerland due to concerns about food safety and the urbanisation of agricultural land.

 The result is a partnership between farmers and consumers to ensure safe organic produce and an ecologically-sound environment.

 Huang Zhiyou, assistant general manager, Little Donkey Farm, said: "Consumers pay us in advance which means that we don't have to take up loans. This also benefits farmers. 

 "In the past, they worked hard for months only to discover that when they try to sell their produce, the prices were subjected to great fluctuations. In this way, consumers are like our shareholders who pre-invest in us."

 In a country where food safety has often been a major cause for concern, the growing popularity of Community Supported Agriculture hardly comes as a surprise. 

 It is also an indication that a growing number of Chinese are willing to pay higher prices for food that they feel they can really trust.

 For an annual fee, the farm also delivers fresh organic vegetables to the doorsteps of urban consumers.

There are currently at least three dozen, possibly up to a hundred, CSA farms in China.

For urbanites-turned-farmers, the attraction isn't just the chance to bring home fresh produce.

 Xu Zhiyong, an urbanite farmer, said: "When I work I'm exposed to the sun. It's mainly a form of relaxation to me. I don't care about the end result as much as the process. To tell the truth, it's cheaper for me to buy than to grow my own."

 For others, it is the opportunity to expose urban children to nature.

 However, there are difficulties in implementing CSA in China.

 Huang Zhiyou, assistant general manager, Little Donkey Farm, said: "China has different land policies. It's not like western countries where land can be privatised, and farmers have rights over their land, and are free to decide what to do with the land. 

 "Things are less stable in China. Who owns the land? Is it the village? Is it the government? It's hard to say."

 While the CSA concept may not fully address the country's food safety problems, they do provide yet another alternative for more discerning consumers.

- CNA/cc