Food security is a central priority for international policy as one of the world’s most significantly urgent targets to achieve. It is considered one of the most pressing issues in many countries, the degree of food security representing the level of self-sufficiency and well-being of citizens. In particular, in the current COVID-19 pandemic era, it has more than ever become a mission-critical goal. In this research, we report on the food security drivers and the current state of recommended policies addressing chronic food insecurity aimed at ensuring the sustainability of future food production. Mapping the determinants of food security contributes to a better understanding of the issue and aids in the development of appropriate food security policies and strategies to enhance the sustainability of food production in all facets; namely environmental, social, and economic. Adopting the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) data screening and selection guidelines and standards, we carried out a comprehensive, reliable, systematic, and rigorous review of research from the last ten years in order to identify the most frequently mentioned drivers and policies of food security in the literature available in two databases: Scopus and Web of Science (WOS). The number of extracted articles was 141 papers in total. An analysis revealed 34 drivers of food security and 17 most recommended policies for the mitigation of food insecurity. The existence of food loss and waste (FLW) policies was the primary driver of food security, followed by food security policies (FSP) in their different forms. However, FSP were the most recommended policies, followed by FLW policies. The identified food security drivers and recommended policies should be used by policy-makers to improve food security, thus contributing to sustainable food production. Our research findings, reflected in the latest version of the Global Food Security Index (GFSI), resulted in more tangible policy implications, suggesting the addition of two dimensions regarding food security. We also identified elements not listed under the GFSI that could be considered in its future revision, including environmental policies/indicators, consumer representation, and traceability throughout the entire supply chain. Overall, it can be concluded that food security is a complicated and multi-faceted issue that cannot be restricted to a single variable, necessitating the deeper integration of various multi-disciplinary interventions.

Technological advances result in new traceability configurations that, however, cannot always secure transparency and food safety. Even in cases where a system guarantees transparency, the actual consumer involvement and a real consumer-based perspective cannot always be ensured. The importance of such consumer centricity is vital, since it is strongly associated with effective supply chains that properly fulfil their end-users’ needs and requests. Thus, the objective of this paper was to explore the level of consumer centricity in food supply chains under a traceability system. The methodological approach employed a framework of two studies validating subsequently a similar set of variables, using initially consumers data and then supply chain actors data. The supply chain of sustainable tomato was selected to design the studies. The level of agreement between datasets suggested the level of the supply chain consumer centricity. Findings showed health, trust, quality, nutrition, and safety-related values to be significant for the consumers towards accepting a traceability system. The supply chain actors also accepted a traceability system based on the fact that their customers’ needs rely on the exact same beliefs, indicating a high level of consumer centricity. The current work underlines the magnitude of consumer centricity in food supply chains and provides an easy and straightforward framework for its exploration. Key implications suggest the design of more effective supply chain and consumer-based strategies for the food industry. Policymakers could also adopt the concept of consumer centricity to further improve the food industry.

Food security (FS) is one of the most elusive and sought-after objectives worldwide. Securing a country’s self-sufficiency— in the current COVID-19 pandemic era, more than ever—has become a prioritized mission. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, FS is adversely affected by, among others, the scarcity of freshwater, harsh environment, regional conflicts, and rising temperatures. Following the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, exporters placed export restrictions on key food crops, affecting FS in import dependent regions, such as the MENA countries and, more specifically, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This paper presented a conceptual framework on the key enablers for the UAE agri-food supply chains to obtain the necessary resiliency to achieve FS, through improving policy-making capacity. The proposed approach started with the assessment of the main vulnerabilities of the food system in a global context; from there, the factors that influence vulnerability were investigated, identifying the main global drivers that affect the local food systems, focusing on the UAE. The proposed framework was applied for the design and implementation of an early warning system concerning FS-related incidents.

Purpose: – This paper aims to report research into emergent supply chain management (SCM) practices in a context in which the imperative for business development requires efficient inter-firm collaboration. It explores the way key supply chain (SC) actors perceive entrepreneurial opportunities and evaluates their SC processes.Design/methodology/approach: – A whole chain approach, using qualitative methods, was used to investigate retail, wholesale and production links, with a special focus on small businesses which predominate in the agrifood sector. The methodology used is of vital importance to understand the complexity of the sector and the interdependencies among stakeholders.Findings: – Results suggest several SC malfunctions originating in diverse strategic planning practices and different entrepreneurial mentalities which hinder the process of emergence from traditional to more modern chain configurations. The fact that the nature of new opportunities in the agrifood sector (e.g. organics) was poorly understood, obstructs further development of the agrifood sector. Other key findings suggest problematic flows of information within the SC and minimal trust among stakeholders.Research limitations/implications: – Sampling constraints suggest that caution should be exercised in extrapolating these conclusions elsewhere. Nonetheless, further investigation using similar approach should be applied in a wider context not only in Greece but also in other similar economies characterized by nascent SCs.Originality/value: – The study investigates the entire SC of a vital sector for numerous small- and medium-sized enterprises, with lessons for diverse emerging agribusiness economies. Insights, not only for the direct SC stakeholders but also for policymakers, could serve to unlock the potential of such sectors and also the exploitation of new opportunities in emerging markets which can be stifled by stagnant sectoral structures and conservative business attitudes.

In the pursuit of sustainability and competitiveness, digital aspects of the tourism experience become increasingly more significant and wine tourism is no exception to this. Still, studies building on established concepts and sustainable practices in the corporate environment often prioritize physical attributes. One such example refers to winescape frameworks, which are yet to explicitly incorporate the digital experience, despite the growing importance of the digital servicescape. This study contributes to this area by commenting on available data on winery websites and adopting the winescape concept to analyze social media activity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The population of the study includes 53 wineries, located in two well-known Greek wine tourism destinations, namely Crete and Santorini. The results identify the most common winescape components that wineries emphasize, revealing similarities and differences across the two destinations. Implications highlight the winescape dimensions that (should) matter the most when considering digital experiences, and provide insights for wine tourism scholars and businesses alike towards a more sustainable wine supply chain.