The innovation and local culture in the production of specialty coffee in Short Food Supply Chains and their impacts on environmental sustainability

Coffee, popularly known as commodities, stimulates the farmer´s interest to innovate and to add value in products aiming for lucrative. One way to add value is through Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC), innovating and valorizing product processes, with basis on local culture. The main aim of this article was to analyze innovations developed by specialty coffee producers from Garça, Brazil, as they were introduced into SFSC and their impacts on environmentally sustainable production. This is a qualitative-quantitative research, with multiple case studies. Data was collected through semi-structured interview observation and documents, and analysis was carried out using Fisher's Exact Test. The main innovations verified for insertion in SFSC are the marketing skills, technical processes used in the harvesting, and machinery acquisitions for processing and packaging products without compromising the quality of the beverage. Although producers made a strenuous effort to promote the environmental sustainability, the statistical test has confirmed that there was no association between innovations and environmental sustainability. As practical implications, this paper seeks to contribute to farmers who want to change their production by selling specialty coffees through SFSC, demonstrating the innovations and their impacts on environmental sustainability, as well as public policymakers who wish to contribute to these farmers by promoting events that generate knowledge about innovations and sustainable environmental development.