The study generally aimed to apply the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the context of urban agriculture (UA) given a community supported farm in a highly urbanized environment such as Quezon City. The case of SoLaWi MaLu, a CSA farm in Germany, Mannheim City, was used as a benchmark for comparison and analysis. The study covered the determination of the characteristics of urban agriculture in a highly dense community, assessment of the applicability of the principles of CSA in the study area; identification of the factors to consider in integrating CSA approach in urban agriculture can help attain food security ; determination of the implications of integrating CSA in urban agriculture in urban development planning; and formulation of measures on how CSA can be integrated in urban agriculture to address food security.
An online survey was conducted to characterize the members of CSA farms in the selected case study area in Germany. Aside from key informant interview, a survey of farmers/beneficiaries involved in the Joy of Urban Farming Program of Quezon City was carried out in barangay UP Campus, Payatas and Silangan. The survey results were used to determine the adherence and non-adherence of farmers to the principles and indicators of integrating CSA into UA. Furthermore, the results were used to show the effects of integrating CSA in UA to address food security.
The results of the study indicated that a lack of space for UA is a major constraint in integrating CSA into an urban set up. However, under certain adoptions such as training on vertical gardening and the provision of vacant plots, a higher level of food security through CSA can be reached. Specifically, the advantage of sharing risk makes the CSA approach highly beneficial in areas prone to disasters.