Slovak agricultural enterprises in short food supply chains - evaluation of economic aspects

Increasing the competitiveness of primary producers and supporting the local development in rural areas were one of the main objectives of the Slovak government within the 2014-2020 program period. Supporting local producers and applying short food supply chains were the main tools for fulfilling these objectives. Short food supply chains are a relatively new concept in Slovakia, associated primarily with the sale of the quality agricultural products directly from the farm. The paper focuses on the evaluation of the performance of agricultural enterprises in Slovakia in the short food supply chains by comparing the economic indicators of enterprises in and outside the short food supply chains over a period of 10 years. This time period captures a relatively stable development of the economic results of enterprises, with a slight increase in 2017, when the enterprises concluded contracts with the Agricultural Paying Agency. This year is considered to be the start of the enterprises in the short food supply chains, providing the results in terms of the observed economic indicators significantly different from the enterprises outside the short food supply chains due to their size and economic power. In connection with the above facts, we have identified the following research questions: 1) Is the size of the agricultural enterprise a factor that influences the success of companies in short food supply chains? 2) Are micro and small agricultural enterprises operating in short food supply chains able to improve their economic results despite their disadvantages compared to large enterprises?