This paper examines how alternative marketing schemes — Local Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology (LSPA), Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) — strengthen producer-consumer relationships and enable farmers to develop and conserve cultivated biodiversity. It describes the principles behind these models (direct partnerships, risk-sharing, local quality assurance), their social as well as biological dimensions, and cites charters and declarations (AMAP, European CSA Declaration, Gasap, SPG Maroc) that embed agroecological and seed-preservation commitments. Using first-hand accounts and farm-level examples, the paper explains how stable, contract-based relationships with consumers give farmers economic security and time to self-produce seeds, experiment with crop associations and rotations, and adopt agroecological practices such as cover crops and mulch. Practical examples include adaptive use of winter radish, selection practices for beans, and the role of small-scale management in reducing weeds and improving soil cover. The text frames seed sovereignty as integral to food sovereignty and notes the project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program (Grant Agreement n. 773814).
Key topics: Community Supported Agriculture, local solidarity-based partnerships, agrobiodiversity, farmers’ seeds, seed sovereignty, Participatory Guarantee Systems, agroecological practices
