Exploring the role of short food supply chains in agricultural sustainability and resilience: a literature review

Abstract

This paper investigates how short food supply chains (SFSCs) contribute to both agricultural sustainability and resilience. By reducing the number of intermediaries between producers and consumers, SFSCs foster direct and transparent interactions that enhance food security, support local economies, and promote adaptive capacities in agri-food systems. Through a structured literature review, the study identifies the key drivers underpinning both sustainability and resilience: economic, social, environmental, technological, and policy-related, and organizes them into a conceptual framework. From this framework, a conceptual model is developed to integrate and visualize the dynamic interactions among these drivers. The findings highlight the transformative potential of SFSCs in responding to contemporary agricultural challenges and provide a strategic tool for policy design and system-level evaluation.