The current European agri-food and forestry (AFF) systems are perceived to be moving too slowly towards more sustainable agriculture, forestry, food and bio-based value chains. The European Green Deal and Farm to Fork (FtF) Strategy stress the importance of the sustainable transition of food systems that emphasize resilience and justice along food chains. In this direction, education and training (ET) are given a major role, constituting one of the pillars of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) framework. This study aims to propose an extended version of the AKIS framework to focus on the transition of policies concerning the ET pillar and to use this framework as a conceptual background with which to identify strategies for the improvement of ET policies in the AFF sectors. Data collection was undertaken through a round of workshops, and the data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The results revealed that the need for a high-quality educational policy and the need to enhance collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovative learning methods were among the most important for the sector, where urgent changes in pace and an approach in ET are necessary for the entire value chain, from farm to fork. These results emphasize that pivoting the transition of ET systems toward achieving the Green Deal, FtF and new CAP objectives requires the development of policies that support student-centered and interdisciplinary education, while also being flexible and supported by non-formal and lifelong learning approaches.

The term food community networks (FCNs) has been introduced to define a governance structure where consumers and producers integrate their functions to promote socially just, environmentally conscious, and healthier ways of food provisioning for communities. We use the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explore how consumers’ behavioral intentions are shaped to participate in FCNs in Turkey. We extend the theory by exploring if collaboration is a factor that influences consumer participation. We further identify the main challenges associated with active participation. The findings show that the extended construct in our study, that is collaboration, positively and significantly predicted consumers’ attitude, while attitude, along with subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) had significant and positive effects on consumers’ intention to participate (co-produce) in FCNs. Consumers regarded time constraints as the biggest issue preventing active participation, while lack of volunteers taking responsibility and lack of communication within the communities were suggested as governance challenges that need to be addressed. This research can contribute to the debate on the importance of collaboration in food communities, towards adopting collaborative governance structures on a local scale, and shed light on the relatively novel experience of FCNs in Turkey.

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) aim to reconfigure producer–consumer relationships by reducing intermediaries and enabling more direct, localized interactions, thereby contributing to the transformation of food systems. Beyond economic and social benefits, SFSCs also serve as spaces for civic learning, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building. While the advantages of SFSCs are well-documented, the specific mechanisms through which learning occurs, and the role of governance in enabling these processes, remain underexplored. The aim of this study is to explore the knowledge exchange and learning dynamics in SFSCs, with particular focus on how organizational forms and governance structures shape learning outcomes. Using a scoping review, it synthesizes a fragmented body of literature and identifies learning modes as an analytical lens for understanding how learning processes unfold in SFSC contexts. SFSCs function as diverse learning environments, fostering both informal and structured knowledge creation. Learning emerges through personal interaction, hands-on participation, peer exchange, and collaborative problem-solving, all shaped by embeddedness in local rural contexts. These processes are shaped by interaction intensity and organizational design, including member participation, institutional support, and local embeddedness. By linking learning outcomes to enabling structures, the study advances understanding of how governance shapes learning processes in SFSCs and contributes a conceptual lens explaining how learning emerges at the intersection of experiential engagement, social interaction, and organizational arrangements.