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Food security in France : the disappearing of small cultivated lands and the AMAP solution
In France, we don't have much problems of food shortage. We produce a lot of cereals, animals, vegetables and fruits. The problems are elsewhere :
1/ Food is expensive, so it is hard for poor people to eat correctly (students for instance)
2/ Though we have a lot to eat here, we get used to import a lot of fruits and vegetables from others countries to eat them outside their period of growing in France, and that is a bad thing for the environment.
3/ It is harder and harder for small peasants to stay financially viable. So they keep disappearing (especially market gardener) in the profit of very large cultures (especially cereals). It is very bad thing for nature, because the hedges are destroyed and is exhaust the ground. Monocultures are also very frail economically. The income depends of the stock exchange (as well as money) and if there is some problem (disease, insects), the farmers are very vulnerable because they have no other way to survive.
The AMAPs (Association pour le Maintien d'une Agriculture Paysanne : association for the support of peasant agriculture) are a good example of this direct selling. The principle is to buy directly to vegetables and fruits to the farmer, that must work close (so it limits transports costs and their environment impact).
It works on the basis of a basket. Every member of the association accepts to take what the farmer have to sell at this period of the year (so you d'ont chose what you buy, but it always have the same value) and engages itself to buy a basket each week during the year. It gives farmers the security to know that they will sell their goods. In exchange, farmers keep low prices, and try to have a good quality food (biologic).
For instance, in the AMAP where I am, a small basket, that is enough vegetables and fruits for 2 persons for a week costs 10€. This is not very expensive in France, but it still a good income for the peasants. Last week, I get : potatoes, carrots, spinach, leak, salad, appel and peers.
This picture looks like what I get 2 weeks ago :
There is about 700 AMAP in France now. It is quite popular here and some AMAPs have waiting lists.
I don't know if the same exists in other countries, but it certainly can help somewhere else. I have heard that something similar exists since 1960 in Japan, and that 1/3 of the polution uses it.
This is more about farmers security, but it is really a good thing for the future of agriculture in France that such thing exists !
Views: 102
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Comment by Michele Baron on April 18, 2010 at 12:57am
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I have read of this. It seems like a good system, and supports local growers and purchasers. We bought food from local farmers in Japan--there was a well established network, supporting local grocers, restaurants, and some street vendors (when they had something particularly special to offer, they would walk around with carts and bells...) Thank you for the post
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