Exploring governance, collaboration and learning mechanisms in Short Food Supply Chains: Opportunities, challenges and the way forward

Abstract

The industrialisation of the food system that favours efficiency and highest yield, also came at the expense of small farmers’ livelihoods, autonomy and traditional ways of living and production, while causing significant shifts in the social and economic structure of many farming regions. As a response, over the last few decades, Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have been gaining momentum around the globe, that aim to promote more socially just and healthier ways of food provisioning. This doctoral thesis aimed to examine three mechanisms at play, namely, governance, collaboration and learning in SFSCs, which are not studied widely in the literature. Besides, outcomes of these processes and associated challenges experienced from the perspective of both farmers and consumers, were explored. In this direction, the findings of the thesis were derived from a literature review and empirical data collected from the Turkish case. The empirical research consisted of a multiple-case study of seven SFSC initiatives, in the context of which semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted; in addition to an online survey implemented to the participants of 18 food community groups in Turkey. The findings revealed differences in governance mechanisms, including the means of how consumers and producers interact, how tasks are shared between actors and decision-making processes. These differences also influenced the governance challenges experienced by each group, including organisational, institutional and resource challenges. Besides, the governance mechanisms adopted affected the extent of collaboration and learning within groups. The extent of collaboration, including trust and transparency, meanwhile, influenced participation of both farmers and consumers in these initiatives. This research, while having addressed the importance to introduce mechanisms that will support or facilitate collaboration within these groups, also drew attention to how local and rural policies can work together with SFSCs towards facilitating the path to more sustainable local food systems.