Conversion to community-supported agriculture-pathways, motives and barriers for German farmers

During the last 30 years, the number of farms in Germany has decreased by more than 50%. Due to socioeconomic pressures, particularly small- and medium-sized farms are forced to close down. A partial or full conversion to community-supported agriculture (CSA) might be an approach to increase the economic viability of a farm in the long term, as the costs related to CSA are covered by the members and, therefore, risks are shared. Moreover, CSA can contribute to a transformation towards sustainable and resilient food systems and to a revitalisation of structurally weak regions. Based on a quantitative analysis of nearly 500 CSA farms in Germany and semi-structured interviews with ten CSA farms that originated from a conversion of an existing farm, we investigated pathways, motives and barriers for German farmers to convert to CSA. We found that only one quarter of the existing CSA farms originated from a conversion. Most of the converted farms were organically certified and focused on mixed cropping and horticulture. Economic stability, consistency with own values and the pleasure of working in an appreciative community were the main drivers for conversion. Major barriers included uncertainty about the membership potential in a region, the shortage of skilled labour, inappropriate funding legislation and bureaucratic obstacles. Cooperation between various actors is needed to overcome these barriers and to promote the diffusion of the CSA model.