Determinants of success of community-supported agriculture in Europe

Background: Community-based agriculture (or Solidarische Landwirtschaft – solidary agriculture) is a strongly growing way of organizing food provisioning. The way in which these are organized strongly differ among each other. In some of these new ways of organizing food production consumers actually help in food production, financing models greatly differ, and rights of decision-making also greatly vary.

Aims of the research: In this research first of all the different types of community-based agriculture are to be systematized. Second, based on the theory of collective action incentives for consumers and producers and contractual arrangements are to be identified. Third, hypotheses as regards the performance of community-based agriculture are to be generated. Further, these hypotheses are to be verified in Germany, Europe, or beyond.