1. SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS
NOURISHING COMMUNITIES
FOR THE FUTURE

2. WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE?
• The capacity to endure
• Long-term maintenance of responsibility
• Responsible management of resources
• Stewardship of ecosystems, countries,
communities & individuals
• Reducing negative impact
• Creating positive development
• Self-stroking cycles

3. WHY SUSTAINABLE?
• Food is at the heart of our lives, our health,
our economy and our communities
• The way we produce our food creates ripples
throughout the system
• Depending on unstable markets for our food
creates an unstable base for our
development
• Sustainability = security. Creating food
security creates health & livelihoods

4. MODELS-CUBA
• “Special Period” after
collapse of Soviet Union
• Food imports cut by 80%
• Agriculture transformed-
switch to organics &
manual labour
• Havana provides 60% of
food needs within city
environs
• Years to establish

5. SELF-SUFFICIENCY MYTH
• To be truly self-sufficient would mean huge
changes/compromises
• It would also demand huge resources for each
family
• Diet-what about staples?
• Fuel-what about heat & transport?
• Water-what about safe supply & effluent?
• Relationships- what about others?

6. SYSTEMS THINKING-
INTEGRATED ELEMENTS

7. SOIL HEALTH
• Soil must be constantly nourished and
replenished
• Green manure great but requires land
devoted to producing seed
• Animals needed for manure- by-products of
eggs, milk and meat. Draft animals too
• Rotation essential for disease and nutrient
management- can be done between beds,
fields or even farms

8. STAPLE CROPS
• Cereals, potatoes, pulses
etc.
• Cereals on a small scale
yield 1.5 tons/acre
approx.
• After processing, that’s
about 40 x 25kg sacks
• Issues of processing &
storage
• How much per family
per year?

9. LARGE FARMS
• Valuable for bulk
crops
• Yields may improve
on larger fields
• Hard to manage with
manual labour
• Valuable for animals
or fodder where land
is no good for tillage

10. SMALLHOLDINGS
• Can be anything from a small
backyard operation up to 50 acres
• Smaller area works better for mixed
agriculture systems
• Can support the most diverse range of
crops
• Also works with less mechanisation, so
can create jobs
• Global trade has made it hard for small
farms to survive
• Needs reliable local markets
• At the heart of strong local economies

11. FOOD DISTRIBUTION
• Distributing food is as important to the
customer as it is to the farmer!
• Place of sale must be easily accessible for
both
• Local produce must be affordable for the
customer
• Costs must be reduced to give best return to
the producer
• Fuel (transport/heat/light) is the costliest
overhead

12. MARKETS
• Low overheads-small fee,
no bills
• Insurance essential- join
traders association
• Becoming more accessible
• Timing makes it less
convenient- takes work to
develop customers
• You can’t be on the
market & on the field at
the same time!

13. BOX SCHEMES/OOOOBY
• Box schemes for individual
producers
• Weekly distribution
• Orders placed beforehand
• OOOOBY is a group
distribution- growers
deliver to OOOBY
• Can include secondary
produce (bread, jams etc)
• Can be delivered or
collected

14. COMMUNITY SUPPORTED
AGRICULTURE (CSA)
• Membership schemes
• Members pay up front
• Can be a small farm, or a
section of a large farm
• Can be a mix of seasonal
produce, or shares in a bulk
crop
• Members typically do some
volunteering on the farm

15. TOPPING UP- HOME PRODUCE
• For most people, space for growing food at
home is limited
• Extra space can come via allotments or
community gardens
• Food growing skills have been lost, so
education is essential
• GIY and community gardens provide the best
practical help
• College courses are for serious growers!

16. COMMUNITY GARDENS
• Typically large-ish gardens
with diverse crops
• Main functions are
education and amenity
• Members share produce, but
will usually only get small
amounts
• Important to find a secure
site (long-term lease)
• Needs to be low-
maintenance

17. ALLOTMENTS
• Need to be easily
accessible- town
plots work best
• Use varies a lot
• Mostly crops go to
home kitchen, but
surplus can be sold
or traded
• Good for staples/
bulkier crops
• Not good for fussy
crops

18. HOME GARDEN- PRIORITIES
• Having a home garden is the
biggest luxury!
• Don’t waste space on bulk
crops
• Focus on things needing more
care- “fussy” veggies, poultry
• Focus on things that need to
be eaten really fresh, e.g.
salads
• Focus on foods that are
expensive or difficult to get
hold of

19. SYSTEMS THINKING-
INTEGRATED ELEMENTS

20. RESOURCES
Cuba- www.powerofcommunity.org
Smallholding- www.smallholding.ie
Markets- IOMST- www.eventsmarketsireland.com
OOOOBY- www.dulra.org/ooooby
CSA- www.soilassociation.org
GIY- www.giyireland.com
Allotments- www.allotments.ie
Facebook Groups-
The Community Garden Network
CSA Ireland