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

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🔬研究者:Provides first statistically supported data on SFSC in Slovenia, filling a gap in European sustainable food systems literature.

🏢実務担当者:Highlights common barriers (regulatory, infrastructural) and preferred training formats for food producers, useful for designing support programs.

🏛政策担当者:Identifies need for better regulatory support and digital infrastructure to strengthen local food systems, relevant for rural development policy.

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. Kratke prehranske verige v Sloveniji: raziskovanje izzivov, dobrih praks in izobraževalnih potreb Izvleček: Kratke prehranske verige predstavljajo inovativen in trajnostno naravnan pristop, ki se uveljavlja kot odgovor na globalne izzive oskrbe s hrano, saj spodbuja tesnejše odnose med proizvajalci in potrošniki, zmanjšuje okoljske vplive ter krepi odpornost podeželskih območij. Naša raziskava predstavlja prvo sistematično empirično oceno kratkih prehranskih verig v Sloveniji. Namen študije je raziskati dobre prakse, izzive deležnikov ter specifične izobraževalne potrebe, pomembne za razvoj ciljno usmerjenih programov krepitve zmogljivosti. Raziskava je bila izvedena v okviru projekta Erasmus+ KA2 Food Improv’iders in temelji na kvantitativni presečni raziskovalni zasnovi, izvedeni z uporabo spletnega vprašalnika med slovenskimi pridelovalci hrane.     Rezultati kažejo, da so kratke prehranske verige v Sloveniji pretežno zaznamovane z neposredno prodajo, sodelovanjem na lokalnih kmečkih tržnicah ter vse večjo uporabo nacionalnih in evropskih shem kakovosti. Kljub temu ostajajo pomembne ovire, med drugim omejena regulativna podpora, nedosledno izvajanje higienskih predpisov na področju varnosti hrane ter infrastrukturne omejitve, kot je slaba digitalna povezanost. Proizvajalci so izrazili velik interes za dodatna usposabljanja, zlasti na področjih varnosti hrane, trženja ter izmenjave znanja o dobrih praksah. Prednost dajejo kombiniranim oblikam učenja, ki vključujejo občasne delavnice v živo in digitalne učne module, pri čemer so kot optimalno ocenili eno do dve izobraževanji letno.         Študija predstavlja prvo sistematično in statistično podprto empirično analizo kratkih prehranskih verig v Sloveniji, ki je bila do zdaj v evropskih raziskavah kratkih prehranskih verig večinoma spregledana. Za razliko od preteklih raziskav, ki se osredotočajo predvsem na zahodno- in severnoevropske države ali na posamezne vidike kratkih prehranskih verig, pa ta raziskava celostno povezuje prakse proizvajalcev, zaznane ovire ter potrebe po krepitvi zmogljivosti v okviru trajnostnega razvoja. Rezultati razkrivajo izrazite generacijske in izobraževalne vzorce, ki vplivajo na prodajne strategije, zaznane izzive in želene učne oblike ter ponujajo nova spoznanja za oblikovanje ciljno usmerjenih izobraževalnih programov in javno-političnih ukrepov za krepitev trajnostnih lokalnih prehranskih sistemov v manjših državah članicah EU. Ključne besede: kratke prehranske verige; lokalni prehranski sistemi; dobre prakse v prehranskih verigah; trajnostni prehranski sistemi; izobraževanje na področju agroživilstva; agroživilski sektor

• semanticscholar https://doi.org/10.26873/svr-2334-2026first seen 2026-07-16 06:23:41