In early July, a team of academics from MENDELU prepared a workshop aimed at developing strategies for short food chains in Central Europe, the Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries, attended by 21 experts from six countries. The aim of the workshop was to transfer knowledge between the academic sphere and those working in the sector.
The project, entitled ‘Family Farms in Short Food Chains: Transfer of Experience from the Czech Republic, Slovak and Poland’, was supported by the Visegrad Fund and focuses on collecting interesting examples of business models of farms in short food supply chains. These examples of good practice are being shared with farmers in Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as these nations have similar historical experiences as Central Europe.
“Shortening the chain is not the goal, it is a means. Short food chains represent a more direct link between farmers and consumers,” said Ivo Zdráhal of the FRRMS MENDELU Regional and Business Economics Institute. “Their advantage is that they can enrich customers with the range of food they demand on the market and at the same time contribute to further development of economic activities in rural areas. It is also a way to reduce the degree of reliance of some segments of farms on subsidies.”
“The development of short chains in the Czech Republic shows that farmers are open to this way of working, despite the fact that there are a number of challenges and difficulties associated with it,” Zdráhal said, citing greater time burdens and transaction costs or the need for a new type of knowledge and skills to be learned and transmitted, among many other issues. “The decision to shorten the chain is a strategic business decision and must be supported by the farmer’s ability to see the opportunity in the market and turn it into value.”
The workshop was prepared by academics from MENDELU’s Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Faculty of Agriculture, and Faculty of Business Administration, in cooperation with Louisiana State University in the United States, which brought the experience of farmers from the US to the workshop.
“We use analytical methods and tools that are more commonly used in the start-up environment,” said Zdráhal. “This allows us to gain a deep understanding of how the business models of short food chains work and to uncover the fundamental factors behind the success of a given model. That is what we want to share with our partners to learn from each other within the consortium.”
