Onderstaande citaten komen uit het boek The Market Gardener van Jean-Martin Fortier.

Geschreven in het engels, key messages zijn highlighted in het groen.

“Direct selling of local products is at the heart of today’s renaissance of non-industrial-scale farming. Essentially, it allows producers to recover part of the profit commonly scooped up by distributors and wholesalers. Most grocery stores or food markets take a cut of between 35% and 50% of the selling price. The distributor, which transports and handles the product, takes another 15% to 25%. So, for a salad that sells for $2 in the store, the vegetable grower selling through conventional distribution channels makes about $0.65. This effectively means that if this grower doesn’t participate in selling, he or she is missing out on two thirds of the value of his product—a sizable chunk. By comparison, market farmers who use direct selling channels make the full amount with every sale. We can conclude that these producers can afford to produce one third as much volume and still earn the same income.”

Short supply & CSA

“There are several forms of direct selling (also known as short supply chains). Examples include community-supported agriculture (CSA), farmers’ markets, solidarity markets, and farmgate sales.

"One of the benefits of direct selling is that it provides confidence to consumers by ensuring safe, nutritious, and responsibly produced food, which is not always readily available in today’s globalized food system.”

Advantages of the CSA Model

• “GUARANTEED SALES: The main advantage of the CSA model is that production is prepaid at the start of the season, often before the first seed has been sown. This model allows the farmer to budget with greater precision. There is nothing better for a solid business plan than guaranteed sales.”
• “SIMPLER PRODUCTION PLANS: Since members have already purchased the produce, the farmer can plan production based on the sales. Once the number of customers has been determined, the contents of each share can be planned out beforehand. This is all the more important for growers who do not yet have much farming experience to go on.”
• “RISK SHARING: The idea behind CSA is that the risks inherent to agriculture are shared between the family farmer and the members. When members sign up, they sign a contract inviting them to be tolerant in case of hail, drought, or any other natural catastrophe. If the season is good, the members will receive more than planned, but if the season is bad, they will receive less. It is like taking out an insurance plan on the harvest.”
• “CUSTOMER LOYALTY: CSA allows farmers to build not just customer loyalty but tangible relationships between consumers and the farm. On our farm, many members have been receiving vegetables from us for many years now. These people know us, have come out to visit the gardens, and greatly appreciate the work we do. As its name suggests, CSA really does have the power to build community.”
• “NETWORKING: CSA is even more advantageous when a third organization can play a coordinating role. This is the case in Quebec, where Équiterre promotes CSA through publicity campaigns and finds members for the farms through its network. In addition, Équiterre provides training on production planning for new farmers, links them with more experienced growers through mentorships, and organizes visits to other operations. These are very helpful and useful services for any beginning vegetable farmer.”

“The development of farmers’ markets and CSA are a sign that citizens are taking back the agricultural economy. Once people get a taste for real food, most don’t want to rely on supermarkets anymore. This creates a lot of opportunity for new farmers.”