Associations for the Preservation of Small Farming

 virtualfarmer.wordpress.com

I was reading about 'environmental' initiatives in Europe and came across the below. Seems like a great idea to me:

AMAPs

3,500 families in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region belonging to Associations for the Preservation of Small Farming (Associations pour le Maintien d’une Agriculture Paysanne, or AMAPs) have undertaken to buy fresh produce directly from local farmers for one season; they pay – in advance – a price set in conjunction with the producer. There are now 200 of these associations, first set up in Provence in 2001, and they are continuing to expand. Alliance Provence Paysans Ecologistes Consommateurs was set up in 2002 to federate the AMAPs and publicise the concept in the PACA region.

Local fair trade. “Consumers have a guarantee as to the traceability of the produce, all of which is grown according to organic principles,” says Daniel Vuillon, the founder of Alliance Provence. The (local) distribution system requires little transportation, a factor in pollution. The produce is sold without any packaging. By relocalising the economy and making small farms sustainable, “the AMAPs are, in a way, involved in local fair trade,” says Philippe Chesneau, vice-president of the PACA regional council with responsibility for employment and spatial policies.

Alliance Provence is supported by the regional council, which is contributing 50,000 euros in 2005, equating to 40% of its budget; the rest comes from département councils. This has helped preserve 60 farms. “Creating jobs by conventional means costs 10,000 euros per post. With the AMAPs, the cost is 800 euros per job,” says Philippe Chesneau.