AMAP
An AMAP is an Association for the Maintenance of Peasant Agriculture 'Association pour le Maintien de l'Agriculture paysanne) whose objective is to preserve the existence and continuity of local farms in a logic of sustainable agriculture, that is to say, peasant agriculture that is socially equitable and ecologically sound. (definition by Miramap - Mouvement Inter-Régional des amap. Mirampa is a member of Urgenci)
An AMAP represents a type of short food supply chains, i.e. economic relations that limit the number of intermediaries, such as direct sales, with a collective dimension characterising the commitment of consumers.
Their aim is to :
- give access to quality food to as many people as possible;
- give priority to local production, mainly within the framework of agroecology or with a support for the conversion of farmers to organic practices;
- help maintain farms in a given area, thereby helping to anchor economic activities locally, which have an impact on territorial development and the social fabric;
- give the citizen back his role as an economic actor;
- give seasonality back to products.
It is thus en economic model whose production choice implements the principles of solidarity, responsibility and participation in a project of political transformation and transition:
- responsibilities are shared between producers and consumers, the latter commit themselves both financially and humanely through payment in advance, sharing of risks (climatic for example) and participation in production activities (agricultural work such as sowing, weeding, picking, etc.).
- the distribution of products is direct from a producer within a limited geographical area to consumer members.
- the economic and solidarity links between producers and consumers are local, both geographical and relational.
It also includes projects support, through mutualisation of tools, support from other farmers, etc. And acceess to food for all, through the "paniers solidaires", as well as a domension from the start, of popular education.
History of the concept
Inspired by the Japanese Teikei and the American Community Supported Agriculture - CSA (see section "History of the concept"), the first AMAP was born in Aubagne in 2001. In the follow-up of the World Social Forum and its questioning for "another agriculture", Attac activists, together with farmers from the Confédération paysanne, and people from the popular education movement, initiated the Amap movement, with a charter developed in 2003 and revised in 2014. The movement has developed mainly in cities and on the outskirts. In 2021, there were around 2200 AMAPs throughout France, implying more than 250 000 consumers.
In 2004, at the initiative of the Alliance Provence Paysans-Ecologistes-Consommateurs, it takes an international dimension with the creation of Urgenci (see Community Supported Agriculture - CSA).