Community supported transformation of agriculture – innovative and regional (SAT-Ire)    

In different projects, the SAT-IRe working group investigates the potential and the contribution of community supported agriculture for a transformation of the food system. Community supported agriculture (CSA), i.e. direct associations of producers and consumers, try to combine economic, social and ecological advantages.

In the project LeVe-Solawi: food use in community supported agriculture, the utilization paths from harvest to consumption were investigated over an entire harvest year on several CSA farms. It has been found that CSA could substantially contribute to a reduction of food losses and waste.

The project InnoLand-Saxony: Innovative models for a sustainable and regional value chain: synergies and potentials of community-supported agriculture in Saxony investigated ecological, social and economic synergy effects of CSA. The aim was to increase the visibility of the CSA- concept in Saxony through a series of information events and workshops to motivate the foundation of new CSA-projects.

In the project SolaRegio: CSA in the context of regional innovation-ecosystems, we aim to build regional innovation ecosystems, which are established by the linkage and cooperation of regional actors (promoters) relevant for CSA. These innovation ecosystems are intended to promote the diffusion of the Solawi concept in economically deprived regions in Germany and to support the conversion of existing farms to CSA.

Contact

Lukas Egli (working group leader, SolaRegio)
Phone: +49 (0)341 6025-2309
lukas.egli@ufz.de

Julia Palliwoda (SolaRegio)
Phone: +49 (0)341 6025-1035
julia.palliwoda@ufz.de

Publications

Menzel, A., Egli, L., Gross, A. (2025). Energy-efficiency of community supported agriculture farms and conventional vegetable production. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 9.

Schmidt, J., Egli, L., Gaspers, M., Zech., M., Gastinger, M., Rommel, M. (2025). Conversion to community-supported agriculture – pathways, motives and barriers for German farmers. Regional Environmental Change 25 (1).

Zech, M., Paech, N., Schmidt, J., Palliwoda, J., Rommel, M. (2025). Innovationsbarrieren bei der Umstellung auf
Solidarische Landwirtschaft. Die Rolle von Systemdienstleistern. GAIA 34(1), 10-16.

Egli, L. (2024). Innovative Modelle für eine nachhaltige und regionale Wertschöpfung: Synergien und Potenziale der Solidarischen Landwirtschaft in Sachsen (InnoLand-Sachsen) - Abschlussbericht.

Thoma, R., Renz, R., Gerdes, S. Egli, L. (2023). Solidarische Landwirtschaft als Zukunftsmodell? Interesse an Solidarischer Landwirtschaft in der sächsischen Bevölkerung. Berichte über Landwirtschaft 101(3).

Egli, L., Rüschhoff, J., Priess, J. (2023). A systematic review of the ecological, social and economic sustainability effects of community-supported agriculture. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7.

Voge, J., Newiger-Dous, T., Ehrlich, E., Ermann, U., Ernst, D., Haase, D., Lindemann, I., Thoma, R., Wilhelm, E., Priess, J., Egli, L. (2023). Food loss and waste in community-supported agriculture in the region of Leipzig, Germany. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 21:1, 2242181.

Egli, L., Gerdes, S., Thoma, R., Egermann, M. 2022. Synergien und Potenziale der Solidarischen Landwirtschaft in Sachsen - Dokumentation der InnoLand-Sachsen Konferenz vom 4. November 2022.