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Finance and economics
In the current global food system, the price consumers pay for food bears little relation to the real costs of production due to subsidies and market distortions. Moreover, most commercial food growers have huge debts. Small producers using agro-ecological methods need to get a fair price for the food they grow while avoiding excessive debt. A range of techniques can be adopted to ensure this happens. Often these rely on building strong personal connections between the grower and the consumer.
In a box scheme, customers buy a box of produce - usually veg or fruit - at a fixed price, either from the producer directly or via a local retailer. The contents of the box depends on what is in season.
Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.
A market garden is a small farm (up to a few acres), which sells vegetables, salad or fruit directly to consumers and/or restaurants. A variety of different plants are grown, with the emphasis on continual production throughout the year.