Food value chains: Governance models

Food value chain (FVC) comprises all activities necessary to bring food products to consumers. The functioning of FVCs is of paramount importance both for the actors involved and for the economy worldwide, considering their social and environmental implications. FVCs increasingly assume the form of national or global chains which require appropriate governance models, where a lead firm coordinates a supplier network. The governance models actually operating in the agro-food sector assume specific forms according to the FVCs involved, which differentiate in terms of final products and inputs. As governance models may determine socially undesirable consequences, specific regulation and consumer’s surveillance are needed