Definition

Short value chains are agri-food supply systems in which the number of intermediaries between producers and consumers is minimized, and where economic, geographic, and social distance is reduced. Therefore, promoting short value chains refers to supporting agri-food systems that reduce intermediation and shorten economic, geographic, and social distances between producers and consumers, thereby enhancing transparency, strengthening local economic development, and increasing the share of value captured by producers.

Rationale

Short supply value chains minimize the distance between producers and consumers by reducing intermediaries, thereby enhancing product freshness, lowering transportation costs, and supporting local economies. By directly linking local farmers with processors and buyers, these systems contribute to sustainability, improved nutrition, greater transparency, and stronger producer–consumer relationships

Key interventions

• Supporting local production and consumption :
  • Programs to encourage local food sourcing from local production through initiatives that connect local farmers with consumers, e.g., Farm-to-Table Programs, and
  • Programs to increase accessibility to nutritious meals to schoolchildren by sourcing locally produced food from smallholder farmers, e.g., Home Grown School Feeding Programs.
• Public procurement programmes involving local producers and processors: Food procurement programmes to promote public purchases sourced from local food production and processors, including following sustainable agricultural practices, targeting sectors managed by public authorities, such as schools' canteens, health centres, retirement homes, prisons and government offices. These programs can promote sustainable, locally produced, certified fresh and locally processed products such as milk and dairy products, fats and oils etc., advocating for the reduction of food miles, reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs), packaging, food waste, boosting local economy and employment, supporting local entrepreneurs, including women and youth-led SMEs, and promoting territorial heritage.
• Urban and territorial food programmes (e.g. zoning agriculture, farmers markets etc.): Integrate food system planning in urban and land-use plans, such as land tenure plans and regulations, integrated water management and urban masterplans, as an important entry point to enable improved health and nutrition to urban populations through reducing rural-urban linkages and increasing the availability and access of food for urban dwellers.
• Policy, programmes and regulatory laws on urban and peri urban agriculture: Promotion of policies, programmes  and regulatory laws recognized as part of zoning ordinances and land-use designations, or other regulations including:
  • Urban agriculture production, e.g., backyard animals, built structures and practitioner’s roles and responsibilities, and
  • Fiscal policy instruments, e.g., restrictions on sales of agricultural products, taxes and urban agriculture fees.
• Infrastructure development for territorial markets: Leveraging programs, policies and regulations on the development of territorial markets and related investments to ensure the necessary infrastructure to shorten supply chains. Policies under this scope help to:
  • Link producers directly to the market,
  • Reduce intermediaries to lower food costs,
  • Increase access to price information, and
  • Develop platforms to facilitate linkages between retailers and producers, ultimately increasing direct supply from producers to urban consumers and improve nutrition for vulnerable populations.   
• Financial incentives and subsidies: Creating the enabling environment to facilitate access to financial and tax incentives to increase productivity, boost income generation and overall wellbeing for producers to develop their businesses through:
  • Access to land tenure,
  • Credits,
  • Loans and subsidies,
  • Support to consolidate SMEs and FOs, ultimately increasing availability of nutritious and healthy food (e.g., subsidizing healthy foods, taxing unhealthy foods to influence consumption habits.
• Support to food systems resilience and emergency response: National programs and policy frameworks to increase food system actors' resilience through incentives to include local food production in emergency response mechanisms, social safety nets, social protection mechanisms, to increase overall resilience of the food system.  
• Localization/regionalization of humanitarian food assistance procurement: Leveraging humanitarian funding to create more sustainable food systems in food deficit regions, green humanitarian food supply chain, and increase humanitarian response speed. Developing food assistance localization policy that take into account indigenous foods baskets, incentivizing local and international financial institutions to develop products to support investment in emergency food production, post-harvest handling, manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure and related support services.