Factors Influencing Membership In A Chengdu CSA Farm

As people begin to rethink the relationship between human beings and nature, increasing attention is paid to food safety and the effects of petroleum based chemical agriculture. This issue has increased in importance since the beginning of the middle industrial period with the government's efforts to build a harmonious society. It also has an impact on the relationship between rural and urban areas, an issue of great importance because of China's large rural population.This paper presents the results of research into the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model as it is practiced in China. It presents a summary of CSA's positive social and environmental effects, supported by an analysis of a CSA farm in Anlong Village, Ande Township, Pi County, Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data. The data were analyzed with the SPSS statistical analysis software application. Binary logistic regression was used to find the significant factors affecting the decisions of customers and potential customers to become members of the CSA. This paper hopes to give some useful advice on how to develop CSAs in China. It is hoped that the CSA model can be one way to build a harmonious relationship between the cities and the countryside.The paper concludes that the CSA concept has evolved as an organic and environmental agricultural production and management system that is economically viable and environmentally friendly. The existing demand for safe food, which is currently being partially met through normal retail channels, indicates that there is a market for the product provided by the CSA farm. Food safety and environmental concerns have heightened interest in the CSA concept in China. CSA farms not only serve as an alternative to the conventional agriculture system but also provide peasants and consumers benefits that go beyond the financial. After analy the influencing factors of willingnesss for CSAs, the customers are willing to be CSAs' member who have higher education, more family members, higher trust for certified food by the government, buying agr-products from peasants directly and being a CSA's member before. The customers are less willing to be CSAs' member who think the food is more safety now and get products from agr-markets.