Réseau International Urgenci
Urgenci
URGENCI is the international grassroots movement of all forms of regional and Local Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology (LSPAs), of which Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is the best-known iteration.
ID: 602273342599-21
Lobbying Activity
Response to Developing social economy framework conditions
28 Sept 2022
Given the current economic, social and environmental crises, several measures linking the Farm to Fork to the Green Deal through social and solidarity economy are required. They all already exist in various European States at local level. They essentially link food security and sovereignty and solidarity economy and create increased resilience.
* Increase financial support for the use of Community Land Trusts and the implementation of the Committee on Food Security's Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests to protect peri-urban agricultural land and coastal areas from development, thus ensuring existing historical food sheds and urban-rural linkages. This is a case that has been fought for in many EU States.
* Community Supported Agriculture shares are based on shared risks and benefits between producers and consumers. These shares can be covered by Local Authorities for vulnerable persons, thus enabling access to healthy nutritious food and the Right to Food. This practice exists in several Cities in France and Spain. Given the energy crisis, such actions need to be coordinated with access to energy to be able to afford to cook (and heat) in winter.
* Soup kitchens need to ensure access to minors (this is an issue in Spain).
* Specific attention needs to be paid to ensuring healthy nutritious meals based on local organic/agroecological food is provided to all children in school cateens, including a parallel provision during periods of school holidays and closure (e.g. through pandemic) as this is often the only nutritious meal in these children's day. This can be done through solidarity economy sturctures. This was widespread in the UK (even if no longer an EU State)
* States/local authorities should cover the additional costs of home deliveries of Community Supported Agriculture shares to elderly and other vulnerable people in times of pandemic or if their health is fragile. This practice exists in several EU cities
* Recognise and support genuine farmer's markets where only local agroecological/organic produce is sold. Solidarity economy is one of the FAO's 10 Elements of Agroecology (10 elements | Agroecology Knowledge Hub - Fao.org). There are many examples of this right across the EU.
*
Read full response