Short food supply chains in Africa: a bibliometric and thematic mapping of an emerging research field

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are increasingly recognized globally as central to debates on sustainability, resilience, and the everyday governance of localized food systems. This study synthesizes bibliometric and thematic patterns to articulate an African-rooted conceptual specification that foregrounds informality, relational accountability, and proximity-based resilience as interrelated governance logics within territorially embedded food systems. Using 80 peer-reviewed publications, the analysis traces the academic structure, collaboration networks, and thematic evolution of the field. The results reveal a rapidly expanding body of literature centered on food security, local food systems, and sustainability. However, the field is characterized by strong North–South collaboration and relatively weak intra-African research links. The thematic structure reveals that dominant SFSC frameworks draw heavily on external models, leaving African relational and informal practices under-theorized.