On Wednesday 13th November, Cae Tân hosted an event focused on the environmental, economic and social benefits of CSA, and the current obstacles to developing agroecological food production around Swansea. It was great to have attendance from a wide variety of organisations, including Swansea Council, Welsh government, several local farmers, local parliamentary candidates, NRW, the Soil Association, Swansea University and RSPB.
We identified key challenges as: access to land, funding mechanisms, opportunities for training and education, policy requirements, and knowledge of supply chains. There are also several important opportunities in our area, such as consumer demand, the amount of fertile land, and interest from aspiring producers. At Cae Tân, we’ve demonstrated that it’s possible to provide food for a great deal of local households in a sustainable manner, and by starting a wider conversation around these issues, we want to open the door to more producers.
If you wish to join this discussion, and have ideas for helping develop food production around Swansea, please do get in touch.
Thanks go to all of the Cae Tân directors for their help in organising this event, and to Cinema & Co. for hosting us.