This paper serves two key purposes. Firstly, it offers a glimpse into research conducted for a dissertation thesis, focusing on short food supply chains, food security, socio-economic aspects of the Central European rural landscape, and agricultural public policies. Secondly, it establishes a bridge between this thesis and forthcoming, more extensive studies on these subjects. The analyses extracted from the dissertation underpin the proposed hypothesis that the EU's current development directions present a significant opportunity for Romania to narrow the gap between its agricultural system and those of developed European nations. The research consists of two core components: (i) a concise exploration of the historical evolution of European goods supply networks, demonstrating how short-distance trade relationships have been integral to the continent's economic fabric for centuries and offering insights into the current status quo, and (ii) a preliminary assessment of Romania's agricultural landscape by categorizing its counties based on the legal status and agricultural holdings' dimensions. The findings suggest that Bihor County is well-suited as a testbed for innovative strategies aimed at the effective implementation of current European development directions within the Central European and Romanian contexts. Literary and quantitative investigation methods have been used. Anyways, even if these studies might shed some light in a still-cloudy realm, they are far from being profound enough. The number of consulted documents must increase and the calculations need to take into consideration more parameters to get more definite results.

short food supply chains, agro-food policies, historical contextualization, data analysis

environmental engineering

Presentation: poster