This study focuses on evaluating the criteria used by stakeholders (restaurants, industry and small-scale retailers) to select fruits and vegetable suppliers in Spain, France and Morocco targeting three selected countries' specific products and supply chains (fresh tomatoes in Spain, Chestnuts in France, Carob in Morocco). The research consisted firstly of conducting deep interviews (DI) with the main stakeholders in the added-value chain of fruits and vegetables in order to understand factors affecting their decision when selecting suppliers. A special interest was drawn on the criteria "produced by local farmers" in order to determine its relative importance within the stakeholder's decision-making. Secondly, semi-structured questionnaires were carried out by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to estimate the relative importance of each criterion and to evaluate the weight of the sustainable factors. Data were collected from stakeholders in the food added value chain with a total sample, equally distributed across countries, of 180 restaurants, 30 industries and 180 small-scale retailers. The survey was applied during the months of May to October 2022. Research results revealed the most important supplier selection attributes varied according to each countries and product category. The role of sustainable criteria in selecting suppliers played an important role in particular in France. Local small-farmers were important for local industry as sustainable supplier but less relevant for restaurant and retailers respectively. Improving the sustainability of the supply chain should focus more on retailers and restaurant marketing strategies when purchasing fruits and vegetable in order to set quotas for locally produced products. This outcome highlights the need of new and optimized business model in which small local farmers can directly supply local restaurants and retailers and contribute in improving sustainability and ensuring reasonable profit of farmers.

The promotion of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC) is an issue that is becoming more relevant to both the public and research agenda, aiming to build more sustainable agri-food supply chains and empower smallholder farmers. This research aims to determine the willingness of small farmers to adopt SFSCs as an alternative to conventional distribution. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology was used to assess farmers' objectives of their agricultural activity in Spain, France and Morocco. For the selection of objectives, deep interviews (DI) and a literature review were carried out. Data were collected from a total of 180 farmers carried out between May and October 2022. Results showed that regardless of the stated interest of farmers in promoting SFSCs, the production-related objectives, especially "Increase productivity" and "Invest in knowledge and machinery", received the highest priority to distribution-related objectives. Moreover, objectives concerning social responsibility received the lowest relative importance, while the environmental preservation concerns outweighed social objectives (especially in the French case). The economic performance of the farm plays a decisive role in the farmers' decision-making as expected in the three case of study analyzed. This is important when exploring mechanisms to incentivize farmers to adopt SFSCs where economic sustainability and efficiency are needed. More research is needed to determine the relationship between the choice of supply chain alternatives and the objectives of the farming activity. This knowledge may help in providing alternatives and adapted solutions that are more sustainable regarding to farmer's preferences.

The purpose of this study is to analyze consumers' relative importance of economic, social and environmental factors when selecting a place to purchase fruit and vegetables in order to establish new strategies according to consumer's preferences and optimize Short Food Supply Chain models. For that purpose, we analyzed consumers' acceptance and preferences using AHP methodology as a multi-criteria decision analysis. Data were obtained from a semi-structured questionnaire completed by 180 consumers from Spain, France and Morocco. Results showed some heterogeneity across countries. In general terms, in Spain consumers demand a nearby shopping place, with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that are sold in bulk without packaging. In France, consumers give the highest relative importance to a place with seasonal and locally produced fruits and vegetables, with diversity of the products offered at lower price. This behavior was also similar to consumers in Morocco. In addition, results showed the existence of an "attitudebehavior gap"; that implies that consumers' stated environmental and social concerns does not always translate into actual purchase behavior. In this sense, carrying out awareness campaigns, new marketing strategies and the implementation of farmers' markets in urban areas emerges as a strategy for the implementation of the SFSC model in cities in order to promote the consumption of local products, to ensure fair trade and generate employment in the region. The AHP approach seems to be a reliable tool for analyzing consumer preferences. However, due to the diversity of cultures and traditions in each country analyzed, it is necessary to explore into the behavior of consumers according to segments and localities and complement these studies with consumers' willingness to pay techniques and thus delve into the "attitude-behavior gap".