SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS IN SLOVENIA: EXPLORING CHALLENGES, GOOD PRACTICES AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Abstract

Short food supply chains are an innovative sustainable approach emerging to address global food supply challenges by promoting closer relationships between producers and consumers, minimizing environmental impacts and enhancing rural resilience. This represents the first systematic empirical assessment of short food supply chains (SFSCs) in Slovenia. The study investigates good practices, stakeholder challenges and specific educational needs relevant to developing targeted capacity-building initiatives. Conducted within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA2 project Food Improv’iders, the research applies a quantitative cross-sectional design based on an online survey of Slovenian food producers. 
Findings indicate that short food supply chains in Slovenia are predominantly characterized by direct sales, participation in local farmers’ markets and an increasing use of national and European-level quality assurance schemes. However, significant barriers persist, including limited regulatory support, inconsistent enforcement of food hygiene regulations and infrastructural constraints such as poor digital connectivity. Producers expressed a strong interest in further training, especially in food safety, marketing and knowledge-sharing on best practices, with a preference for blended learning approaches, combining occasional in-person workshops with digital modules and identified one to two training courses per year as optimal.
This study provides the first systematic and statistically supported empirical assessment of short food supply chains in Slovenia, a context that has remained largely unexplored in European SFSC research. Unlike previous studies that focus primarily on Western and Northern European countries or on single dimensions of SFSCs, this research integrates producers’ practices, perceived barriers and capacity-building needs within a sustainability framework. The results reveal distinct generational and educational patterns shaping sales strategies, perceived challenges and preferred learning formats, offering novel evidence to inform targeted educational programmes and policy interventions for strengthening sustainable local food systems in smaller EU member states.