From agroecology to regenerative supply chain design: A systematic literature review

This study bridges agroecology and regenerative supply chain management by translating agroecology's practice-based evidence into supply chain design terms for agri-food systems. Drawing on an abductive systematic literature review of 72 peer-reviewed articles, we synthesize four agroecology-informed supply chain practice sets: agroecological production, knowledge transfer and co-creation, embedded and solidarity-based market relationships, and organizing forms for value chain coordination. These practices were conceptualized into four agroecological supply chain configurations—bridged, scaffolded, civic, and territorial—that differ in who coordinates exchange, how demand is structured, and where capabilities and governance reside. We further map the four practice sets to core regenerative supply chain management principles and highlight distributive justice as a cross-cutting condition for durable regenerative outcomes. The study elaborates a developmental logic, which indicates that producer-led, territorially embedded chains supported by local innovation networks and deep producer-consumer integration are positively associated with systemic regeneration.