Abstract

The article analyzes the reality of the Italian short agrifood chains and the specificities of their entrepreneurship. Based mostly on micro and small businesses, these entrepreneurial agglomerates are located throughout the country and represent a fundamental resource for its development, especially in the most marginal areas. While it is becoming increasingly clear that the short agrifood chains represent a resource for rural areas both from an economic and social point of view, as well as from the point of view of the conservation of the biocultural heritage and the preservation of landscapes, this article explores their state of health to understand what are the key problems on which to intervene and the needs to be addressed to allow the short agrifood chains to find an adequate balance between innovation and preservation. To this end, based on qualitative research conducted since 2020 in the Italian countryside, the article provides a survey of these challenges. It indicates a profile of the fragility of the chains. Considering these weaknesses, five case studies are explored. They show specific bottom-up responses to the most common challenges and offer potentially replicable social and economic solutions. The article opens by focusing on the main weaknesses of the short agrifood chains as discussed in the literature, then presents the research and its data. It discusses the profiles of the fragility and explores the five case studies. In doing so, the article highlights some of the possible micro and macro-solutions to be introduced in support of this sector of agri-food crafts.