The Significance of Short Food Supply Chains: Trends and Bottlenecks from the SKIN Thematic Network

- Experiences of short food supply chain: an explorative research in the province of Trento In the recent years there has been an increasing interest in the scientific literature for the so-called "Alternative Food Networks" which try to redefine the relationship between producers and consumers. Particularly interesting is the short food supply chain which allows both producers to get back some added value and consumers to have better food "with the farmers' face on it". Moreover, some part of the literature stressed that a shorter food supply chain promotes the rise of a new and more territorially based rural development. The investigation approach has been mainly sociological or geographical and mostly based on case studies. Little attention has been devoted to quantify the involved farmers' population. Since shorter food supply chains are becoming increasingly present in the Italian market, the aim of the paper is to contribute to deepen the knowledge about these experiences, starting from the specific context of the Autonomous Province of Trento. First of all, a census of the empirical variety of short food supply chains has been made. In addition to three farmer's markets, one box scheme (Biocesta) and other similar initiatives, farmers open their farms to consumers and visitors. The integration of three different databases allowed us to estimate the number of farms involved in the short supply chain. It represents the 12,8% of the full time farms. In order to shed light on structural conditions, economic performance and farmers' perceptions, we surveyed a convenience sample of 36 farms involved in the most innovative forms of short food supply chain. The surveyed farms are of small dimensions; the farmers are well educated and they are fully involved in the short food supply chain. Most part of the farms is highly diversified: the average number of products is 4.4 and the diversification is strengthened trough some processing. Only 28% of the sample sells the whole production through the short supply chain: this confirms that the major part of farms does not abandon the conventional system when opting for a shorter supply chain. Investigating the motivations that draw farmers to move towards a shorter supply chain shows that a better valorisation of their products represents the most important one. Nevertheless, other non-monetary reasons enter into the decision and gain top ranking positions such the direct contact with consumers and the enhancement of professional competences. The option for a shorter supply chain seems to have very interesting consequences. Actually, it pushed the 72% of farms to increase product diversification; it induced some farms to switch to organic production, to recover unusual vegetables and antique fruit cultivars, to pay greater attention to the landscape, to offer new services inside the farm and to strength the relations with other farms and the territory. These results support the idea that the short food supply chain enhances the multifunctional role of farms.JEL Codes: Q12, Q13Key words: short food supply chain, farmers' survey, structural and economic characteristics, Trentino

Short food supply chains are a typical solution for traditional food distribution systems. Geographic proximity is a key determinant of both short supply chains and regional products. Regional foods are linked to a place, both through the origin of raw materials and through their ties to traditions. The aim of the study is to identify the key features of farmers–regional food producers building short food supply chains. The research material comes from surveys conducted in July 2024. The research covered farmers–small producers of regional food in Poland. 252 questionnaires were selected for the presented research. The respondents were divided into two groups: farmers who sold only directly and farmers who used sales intermediaries. Research shows that direct sales dominate among farmers and producers of regional food in Poland. Factors of particular importance in building short regional food supply chains include connections to recipes and family traditions, in terms of knowledge and practical skills. Given the numerous advantages of short regional food supply chains, this activity is worth supporting. Institutional support should encompass not only financial assistance but also organizational support to help connect producers with consumers. Promotional activities highlighting regional food and its producers could be another pillar of support.

The article focuses on consumers' dilemmas regarding the choice of food products. Growing consumer awareness is reflected in everyday choices and has both economic and public health significance. Public awareness is generating a tendency to pay attention to health aspects by choosing fresher, better quality and less processed products. Consumers are increasingly interested in short food supply chains and shortening the time it takes to move food “from the field to the table”. Purchasing behavior is conditioned, inter alia, by the individual hierarchy of values professed by the consumer, in which short food supply chains are identified with better quality, lower price and reduced trade margins. Preferences for local and regional products are also observed. The market provides such opportunities, as legal changes introduced in Poland in 2016–2017 enabled farmers to legally sell food products directlyin an unprocessed as well as processed state. Such sales are carried out in short supply chains. A similar phenomenon is also observed among farmers in many EU countries. Short food supply chains play an important role in the process of creating market advantage of agricultural producers, as food products are quickly delivered to the final recipient. Local markets become very important in this case and direct selling, which lost its importance at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, is gaining popularity again. Logistical food supply chains are considered in various scientific fields. They combine organizational and technical, economic, social as well as cultural, and health dilemmas. The aim of this study was to identify preferences of food supply chains in the context of consumer behavior of the inhabitants of south-eastern Poland. The survey was conducted using the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) method. The survey shows that respondents associate food quality with the length of the supply chain, in the declarative sphere, they prefer short food supply chains, but do not use them. A sizeable proportion of respondents said they were willing to pay slightly more for safe and wholesome food. Research has confirmed that the modern consumer increasingly recognizes the importance of the healthiness of products, and links this to shortening the food supply chain.

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) are central to the alternative food movement discourse. SFSCs are based upon the interrelations among actors who are directly involved in the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food products. They depend upon actors mobilising resources of various kinds: skills; knowledge; labour; capital; buildings etc. External factors such as policies and regulations can also encourage the creation of these shorter chains. The development of SFSCs can still be hindered by a range of other factors. Nevertheless, bottlenecks can be overcome via the sharing of information on successful SFSCs through the dissemination of Good Practices between various actors and territories. The Short Supply Chain Knowledge and Innovation (SKIN) project uses the term ‘good’ rather than ‘best’ practice to draw attention to the subjective lens through which a practice is ultimately evaluated by an end-user. This paper first outlines the many issues that confront SFSC actors which represent bottlenecks to the adoption of ‘Good Practices’. It then documents the Good Practices collected as part of the SKIN project as tangible examples of how SFSCs overcome such challenges. Lessons learnt from project highlights are subsequently assessed in an effort to mitigate and offer solutions to the challenges associated with SFSCs. The paper demonstrates the considerable latent potential inherent to SFSCs. However, in order for the agricultural sector to realise the full promise of short supply chains it must first be conscious of the issues pertinent to their prosperity.

<p>This paper explores the challenges in meeting the regulatory requirements of short food supply chains in 9 European countries based upon findings from the European H2020 3-year project "SMARTCHAIN". The assessments of the barriers that small food producers face in meeting different regulatory requirements are presented. Drawing on the results of 10 multi-actor workshops that involved 124 participants, the most problematic policy frameworks for short food supply chains and key obstacles in different regulatory requirements are summarized. This research shows that current EU and national regulation is an obstacle to the development of short food supply chains, meaning that additional efforts are needed to tailor the regulations to small food producers involved in short supply chains. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the introduction of more effective support measures for short food supply chains.</p>

Investigating the impact of short food supply chain on emigration: A study of Valencia community in Spain

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges to global food supply chains. Since the beginning of the pandemic researchers have studied various food supply chain issues influenced by the COVID-19 crisis, including impacts on consumer behavior, and logistical and organizational changes to food supply chains. Despite the proliferation of studies on food supply chains during the pandemic, only a few researchers have focused on short food supply chains and their resilience. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the resilience of short food supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic using a direct purchasing (DP) network as a case study. The study considered three research questions. (1) How has the functioning of the DP network changed during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) What role do resilience elements (i.e., readiness to shocks, responsiveness to disruption, and recovery from the crisis) play in the short food supply chain response to the COVID-19 crisis? (3) Which innovations in the short food supply chain would further the recovery process, and thus resilience, after the crisis?MethodsThis article presents a case study of a direct organic food purchasing network in Latvia. The analysis of economic data regarding the dynamics of organic product demand and supply in the DP network was supplemented with an analysis of qualitative data gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews with representatives of three groups of DP network participants: consumers, producers, and DP network organizers.Results and discussionFrom the consumer and producer experiences, the DP network was a flexible short food chain that could adapt quickly in a crisis. While the number of DP distribution points and total number of purchases decreased during the pandemic, a statistically significant increase in the number of product units sold compared to the pre-COVID-19 period was observed. From the perspective of food chain resilience elements, the reactive strategies of the DP network as a short food supply chain were highlighted. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizational and product innovations introduced in the DP network played a key role in enhancing the resilience of the short supply chain in the context of the wider food system.

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic caused mainstream food supply chain disruptions, increased food security concerns, and impacted agri-food production and distribution systems. Short food supply chains provided consumers with an alternative method to acquire food outside conventional food supply chains. In this paper, innovation was seen as a solution to external challenges or problems in global food supply chains during a pandemic crisis. The solution was analyzed in the context of the United States and changes in the consumers’ behavior and purchasing patterns in the direction of more accepting short supply chains, which led to the successful overcoming of crisis or adaptation of consumers to crisis circumstances.MethodsThe Diffusion of Innovations was selected as the theoretical framework. Data were collected from 1,002 American adults from July 13 to August 18, 2021, through an online survey.Results and discussionResults showed that consumers with higher educational attainment and financial status, from non-rural areas, and with more conservative viewpoints had higher innovation adoption levels, and they were more likely to embrace short food supply chains as an alternative during disruptions to conventional supply chains. Recommendations provide strategies to increase the use of short supply chains during the crisis to better meet the needs of consumers in the food system and improve marketing and communication efforts. Marketing and communication initiatives should engage these food innovators as opinion leaders to increase the adoption of short food supply chains to stabilize food supply in preparation for future crises.

Local production supports the economies of place and increasingly makes sense as the citizen-consumers increase in number and awareness. Nonetheless, despite the value of the short supply chains, some researchers have reacted sceptically to the irrational optimism around this sales structure. A close relationship with consumers does not imply more profit or exchange fairness by definition. In fact, increasing marketing costs must be considered and there is still information asymmetry, and the profiteering farmers could take advantage of the consumer trust. Through data reduction we explored the farmers' motivation and perceived effects of participating in short food supply chains. We also analysed the location of farms along with their size, production, sale channels and the relative market share, as well as whether they adopted quality certifications. We found that the farmers that work within the short food supply chains opt for a sort of co-certification mechanism based on the consumer/producer relationships rather than opting for the quality certification. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis showed different motivations and perceptions of direct sales among farmers: those that were the largest and farthest from the point of sale, were positive toward the social values of short food supply chains, while the rest seemed less competitive and were more motivated by profit and survival. The results reaffirm that the local production may not be good per se, and the presence of profit and surviving-orientation to market should be considered a treat especially for the reputation of the whole system.

There is evidence local farming systems and short supply chains have more impact on local economies than on long supply chains and have significant impacts on sustaining local employment in rural areas. Short supply chains focus on meeting consumer demands for local products in a guaranteed manner, strengthen local economies, improve carbon footprint, and contribute to food safety, access to natural and healthy nutrition, and sustainability of small producers and their businesses. In this research, case study and interview methods have been applied to evaluate environmental, social, and economic risks for short food supply chain. This chapter reveals decision-making process through accounting in a more regular, consistent, and integrated way by including environmental and economic information which aims to balance human and environmental needs within the framework of the European Union Short Food Supply Chain Policy.

The rapid increases in environmental pollution, urbanization, health concerns, and technological progress enhance the demand for greener, healthier, and fairer food production and consumption. The short food supply chain (SFSC) becomes one of the crucial solutions for these issues. This study aims to propose a conceptual framework of the SFSC, assess the short vegetable supply chain (SVSC) in Vietnam, identify its barriers and challenges, and explore interventions and support as key success factors of the SVSC by using both qualitative and quantitative methods. This study initially proposes the SFSC framework with six pillars and 28 indicators, this model is used to assess the SVSC. The results show that the SVSC brings various social, economic, and environmental benefits: First, it can increase farmers’ income, employment, fairness, and health. Second, the SVSC can decrease environmental pollution, food waste, and energy consumption. Third, it can improve food quality and consumers’ health. Fourth, the SVSC enhances on-farm education, agricultural tourism, local livestock farming, and traditional culture and relationship. However, the SVSC encounters various barriers and challenges impeding its performances and benefits. The vegetable value chain gains several interventions and support from the government and the project to overcome these barriers. Overall, the SFSC, good agricultural practice, and sustainability are strongly associated: good agricultural practice and sustainability are inherent in the SFSC.

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) is a concept that is relatively new in the conditions of the Slovak Republic, but is developing significantly, mainly with the support of EU policies (CAP, RDP). This paper is focused on the evaluation of the performance of the micro and small agricultural enterprises in short supply chains in the Slovak Republic. We focus on the evaluation of selected economic indicators of small agricultural enterprises and micro-enterprises depending on their participation and non-participation, respectively, in SFSC. Next, we demonstrate the linear relationship between the researched primary and secondary data of enterprises operating inside and outside of the SFSC. Analysing the selected data, we state the ability of farmers operating in the SFSC to produce added-value products and improve their social situation. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of associating farmers with SFSCs are demonstrated.

This report provides a picture of the size and distribution of short supply chains for agricultural products in the Province of Gelderland. First we define short food supply chains in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy. Then we look at the size of short food supply chains in Gelderland: which sectors and municipalities are taking the lead? Furthermore, some additional attributes of short food supply chains have been analysed: farm size, whether or not there is a successor for the farm, etc. The relations between multi-functional farming activities and short food supply chains have also been analysed. Lastly, the dynamics of farm sales have been analysed, as an example of a short food supply chain which is relatively well documented.

There has been an interest in short food supply chain recently which has stemmed from the need of improving the flow both of products and information from suppliers to customers. Although, many tools have been developed in order to increase the performance of supply chain, they haven't succeeded in helping managers make strategic decisions concerning the operations of the short food supply one. In the agrifood sector, practitioners face short food supply chains as integrated systems that incorporate all the processes of traditional supply chains. Thus, decision support systems (DSSs) are required to help managers handle these processes properly. Most of the existing studies focus on the improvement of individual firms or processes more than on the design of an entire food supply chain. So, the purpose of this paper is to propose such a strategic DSS model that based on the Strategic information systems planning (SISP) process, could provide a holistic approach to effective decision making in short supply chain in the agrifood industry. This model supports product managers to improve the effectiveness of food supply operations.

There has been an interest in short food supply chain recently which has stemmed from the need of improving the flow both of products and information from suppliers to customers. Although, many tools have been developed in order to increase the performance of supply chain, they haven't succeeded in helping managers make strategic decisions concerning the operations of the short food supply one. In the agrifood sector, practitioners face short food supply chains as integrated systems that incorporate all the processes of traditional supply chains. Thus, decision support systems (DSSs) are required to help managers handle these processes properly. Most of the existing studies focus on the improvement of individual firms or processes more than on the design of an entire food supply chain. So, the purpose of this paper is to propose such a strategic DSS model that based on the Strategic information systems planning (SISP) process, could provide a holistic approach to effective decision making in short supply chain in the agrifood industry. This model supports product managers to improve the effectiveness of food supply operations.