Building capacity for short food supply chains through food processing workshops: Experience from the Horizon Europe RURBANIVE project

Abstract

Background Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are increasingly recognised as a means of improving the sustainability, resilience and economic viability of local food systems. However, many farmers and small-scale food producers lack the technological knowledge required to develop value-added products for direct sale. The Horizon Europe RURBANIVE project addresses these challenges through knowledge exchange, capacity building and innovation. Within this framework, practical food processing workshops were designed as multi-actor learning activities promoting collaboration between academia, farmers, food producers and public authorities and building their capacities. This study evaluated participants’ perceptions of the workshops and the potential contribution of those practical courses and digital learning platform for shortening the food supply chains. Methods Between 2025 and 2026, eight practical workshops on dairy, bakery, meat and brewing technologies were organised at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. The workshops combined theoretical lectures with hands-on demonstrations on pilot-scale processing lines. Overall, 122stakeholders participated, but only 92 (75.4%) of them completed an anonymous post-workshop questionnaire evaluating nine aspects of the educational activities. Digital learning platform Moodle has been developed as a follow-up of the workshops but cannot be evaluated yet. Results Participant satisfaction was very high. Almost all respondents were satisfied with the workshops, considered the objectives clear and highly rated the facilitators. The duration of the workshops and the balance between theory and practice were positively evaluated, while 77.2% of respondents expressed interest in attending similar events in the future. The workshops resulted in the development of digital learning platform with four production courses and one product marketing course. Conclusions Practical workshops effectively supported knowledge transfer and strengthened participants’ capacity to develop value-added products suitable for direct sales channels. Combined with digital learning tool, they provide a transferable model for supporting short food supply chains and more resilient local food systems.