The role of advisors in SFSCs
Developing Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) requires more than motivated farmers or good ideas - it depends on advisors who connect, guide, and translate knowledge into action.
Advisors are key actors holding together stakeholders, markets, regulations, and local specificities, and ensuring that these systems are resilient, well-organised, and economically viable
COREnet is a EU-funded project (101060905) designed to strengthen SFSCs across Europe. By bringing together multiple stakeholders - farmers, advisors, researchers, and policy actors - the project aims to enhance advisory services, foster knowledge exchange, and promote sustainable local food systems
COREnet is capturing information and insights of SFSCs cases making them available to operators for a better peer-to-peer learning network at EU level.
Strengthening connectivity between advisors and farmers is essential to enhancing food system resilience, and SFSCs are identified in current policy as a viable means of achieving this connectivity.
Fedele Colantuono, Project manager
The COREnet methodology explained
A key part of the advisory journey is continuous learning.
The COREnet Stories showcase real SFSCs in action - from Mediterranean cities to Central European farmlands and coastal fishing activities. While each community faces unique challenges, these stories reveal a common foundation: trust, collaboration, and the central role of advisors.
COREnet contributes to this process by identifying, analysing, and exchanging best practices, creating a shared knowledge base that strengthens advisory services and allows lessons learned in one territory to inspire solutions elsewhere.
Continuous learning is essential: as Jan Willem van der Schans from Taskforce Korte Katen explains, advisors themselves must be trained and supported to stay up to date with new models, governance structures, technologies, and consumer expectations across Europe.
Experts like Eva Jennings of Teagasc, who presents the Multi-Actor approach, act as facilitators and knowledge brokers, bridging farming practice, market organisation, regulation, and innovation.
Inside the Campagna Amica markets in Italy
The vibrant network of farmers’ markets that shape the food landscape of Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia region.
In Sardinia, advisors working within Campagna Amica, managed by Coldiretti, provide ongoing organisational, logistical, and promotional support. They guide producers on market rules, pricing, branding, and governance, while also coordinating market operations to ensure smooth functioning.
By operating under a shared “market brand” while preserving each farm’s identity, advisors help farmers increase visibility and consumer trust without losing their individuality.
Their work starts well before the market opens, supporting farmers in meeting regulations, organising logistics and distribution, and ensuring that all products sold come directly from the producers’ own farming or processing activities.
Learn more about Campagna Amica and the Sardinian approach in the videos from COREnet Stories series
From land and sea: local food Stories
Regional experiences from agriculture, fisheries, and local networks
Best practices from Portugal
As highlighted by Pedro Valadas Monteiro, Vice-President of the Algarve Regional Coordination Commission, strengthening short food supply chains is seen as a strategic response to these vulnerabilities.
By strengthening local markets and reducing transport needs, these advisory-driven approaches also contribute to environmental sustainability by lowering the carbon footprint of food distribution.
A key activity in this advisory landscape is the In Loco Association, a private non-profit organisation founded in 1988 and active in the region for over three decades.
As explained by Artur Gregório, In Loco works to foster communication between production and consumption in a local economy characterised by small-scale actors. Through its long-term engagement with rural communities, the association supports development models rooted in local traditions, seasonal rhythms, and regional identity.
COREnet Stories from Portugal
Quinta do Freixo
Quinta do Freixo is a large-scale farm operating under a circular and integrated model that combines organic farming, biodiversity regeneration, livestock, forestry, food processing, and tourism. The farm demonstrates how SFSCs can be environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
Cabaz Frescomar
Cabaz Frescomar is a community-based initiative that connects small-scale fishers directly with consumers through weekly baskets of fresh, locally caught fish. The initiative shows how SFSCs can support sustainable fisheries, improve working conditions, and reinforce local economies - offering a replicable model across Europe.
Connecting farmers, advisors, and consumers
SFSCs practices in Hungary
Developing SFSCs in Hungary depends on strong advisory systems that can help farmers navigate market access, administrative complexity, and new business models. More than 21,000 small-scale farmers across the country are searching for ways to reach consumers, increase visibility, yet many struggle to identify the right opportunities or support.
As Katalin Kujáni, President of the Hungarian National Association of Small-Scale Farmers, explains, farmers are eager to innovate but often lack access to advisors who can help them turn ideas into viable local food systems.
Over the past decade, Hungary has invested in building such advisory capacity. In 2019, they have developed guidebooks and training materials for informal advisors working with local producers, helping them understand local food systems, assess farmers’ needs, and support community-based value chains.
An official national register of certified agricultural advisors was introduced, allowing farmers to find reliable, qualified experts through the Chamber of Agriculture. As Zsuzsanna Varga notes, this system is important in a context where farmers are overwhelmed by information, administrative requirements, and constant policy updates. By strengthening access to professional guidance, advisory services enable farmers to focus more on production and less on bureaucracy.
COREnet Stories from Hungary
MagosVölgy Ecological Farm model
In the village of Terény, north of Budapest, MagosVölgy Ecological Farm offers a concrete example of how SFSCs can create stable, resilient links between farmers and consumers.
Operating through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, the farm supplies food to 160 households that share both the harvest and the risks of production, providing farmers with predictable income and long-term economic security.
By relying on direct sales, close relationships with consumers, and agroecological production methods, MagosVölgy shows how SFSCs can support small-scale farming.
The Open Farm Network cooperative model
In western Hungary, the Open Farm Network in the Zala-völgy area illustrates how cooperation among small farms can strengthen SFSCs and rural economies.
By working together, 36 farms directly connect with consumers through on-site sales, farm visits, and shared open-day events, increasing their visibility and market reach. This collaborative approach allows farmers to diversify their income through agri-tourism and experiential activities, while building trust, transparency, and long-term relationships with visitors.
The Open Farm Network highlights how collective action within SFSCs can enhance economic resilience, and create models that are scalable and transferable to other regions.
Learn more about advisors best practices from COREnet
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