Optimizing short food supply chain logistics to lower carbon emissions and enhance operational efficiency for small-scale rural producers

Food hubs serve as platforms that aggregate products from small-scale food producers and facilitate their delivery to final consumers, which can enhance their profit margins and foster local economic development. However, the logistics involved in operating food hubs can be particularly costly. The research aims to show the possibilities of improving the environmental and operational efficiency of food hubs by developing a new mathematical model. A Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model addresses the ‘producer-to-hub-to-customer’ transport problem, drawing on comprehensive real-world data. Computational experiments demonstrate that enhancing cooperation among producers when delivering goods to the hub can lead to a reduction in logistics costs and carbon emissions. To bolster environmental outcomes, the study presents empirical evidence indicating that transitioning from conventional to electric vehicles can reduce transport costs by nearly one-third and diminish carbon emissions by as much as 70%.