Adaptation Strategies of Small Farms in Short Food Supply Chains during the pandemic and post-pandemic crisis: A Case Study from the Czech Republic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62156489%3A43310%2F25%3A43927837" target="_blank" >RIV/62156489:43310/25:43927837 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-471-2.81-93" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-471-2.81-93</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-471-2.81-93" target="_blank" >10.26493/978-961-293-471-2.81-93</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Adaptation Strategies of Small Farms in Short Food Supply Chains during the pandemic and post-pandemic crisis: A Case Study from the Czech Republic

Original language description

The Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) strategy offers an alternative to conventional (long) food supply chains. It can be an effective strategy for small farmers to establish closer connections with consumers. This closer proximity to consumers allows for faster strategic decision-making and actions on consumer needs. SFSCs are also praised for their contribution to sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. The policies of the European Union also endorse the SFSC model. Small farms constitute a significant share of the total number of farms in the Czech Republic and play important social roles in rural areas. In 2020, the Czech Republic had a total of 28,910 farms, comprising 16,000 farms (55.3%) with an area of less than 20 hectares. The pandemic and subsequent post-pandemic crisis affected the entire Czech economy and firms in all sectors. Farmers in SFSCs had to find ways to deal with such a disruptive event. The article aims to evaluate farmers&apos; perceptions of the impact of the pandemic and post-pandemic crisis on the functioning of SFSCs and their impact on farming operations, as well as to discuss the adaptation strategies of small farms in SFSCs in the Czech Republic during the recent crisis period. The article answers two questions: 1) How did the pandemic and post-pandemic crisis affect the functioning of SFSCs and farming operations in the Czech Republic? and 2) What adaptation strategies did small farms in SFSCs in the Czech Republic use during the pandemic and post-pandemic crisis? The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 73 small farmers involved in SFSCs in the Czech Republic during the years 2024 and 2025 and were analysed using statistical methods. Results indicate that, despite farmers&apos; perception of the impact of the crisis on their farming operations, their perception was rather negative. In the case of the functioning of SFSCs during the crisis period, their perception was slightly more positive than negative. The reason is that farmers in SFSC often implemented strategies to cope with the situation, e.g. by improving their online sales, e-shops, and social media presence. We argue that changes in marketing practices during the crisis period will enable farmers to improve their SFSC operations in the future.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

D - Article in proceedings

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

50204 - Business and management

Project

<a href="/en/project/GF23-04055L" target="_blank" >GF23-04055L: Small farms and short food supply chains under economic crisis – evidence from COVID-19 pandemic</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Article name in the collection

MIC 2025: Navigating Change; Resilience and Innovation for a Sustainable and Digital Era: Proceedings of the 24th Management International Conference

ISBN

978-961-293-471-2

ISSN

2712-3766

e-ISSN

2712-3766

Number of pages

13

Pages from-to

81-93

Publisher name

University of Primorska

Place of publication

Koper

Event location

Zadar

Event date

Jun 4, 2025

Type of event by nationality

EUR - Evropská akce

UT code for WoS article

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