1.3bn tonnes food wasted globally – UN

United Nations United agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO; International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD and the World Food Programme, WFP have said that some 1.3 billion tonnes of food being lost or wasted globally, were enough to feed two billion people.
The Rome-based agencies estimated that roughly 30 percent of global food production, that is 40-50 percent of root crops, fruits and vegetables, 20 percent of oilseeds, meat and dairy products and 35 per cent of fish, is either lost or wasted.
To reduce the food losses and waste, which account for one third of food produced for human consumption, they have launched a new online platform that brings together for the first time a range of resources and allows stakeholders to share experiences and best practices.
According to a statement by FAO, the platform is part of “Mainstreaming Food Loss Reduction for Smallholders in Food Deficit Areas”, an ongoing project by FAO, IFAD and WFP, which is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC.
The statement said the platform aims to become a global reference point that facilitates the sharing of information and linkages between stakeholders including public entities, civil society and the private sector.
It added that the platform allows stakeholders to stay tuned on relevant news and events and access links to online libraries, databases, repositories with relevant materials and social networks.
FAO further stated that a number of online trainings and e-learning modules on post-harvest management would also be available on the platform.
“When food is saved, the resources used to produce it are saved. Reducing waste and losses by not creating these in the first place should be a priority for all,” FAO Deputy Director General, Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo said referring to the initiative. Semedo stressed that more than 800 million people in the world still suffer from hunger.
IFAD Vice President Michel Mordasini highlighted the importance of farmers in reducing food losses noting how food losses remain “unacceptably high and greatly impact smallholder farmers who are most vulnerable”.
“The available technical solutions still have to be made accessible and affordable to those farming communities. I am therefore encouraged by the fact that the Global Community of Practice on Food Losses will engage with and tap into the knowledge of farmers and practitioners, as well as researchers, development agencies and policymakers,” Mordasini said.
WFP Assistant Executive Director, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, welcomed the launch of the new platform and noted how WFP’s own Post-Harvest Loss Reduction initiative currently reaches 16,000 smallholder farm families in Uganda, with the aim of reducing post-harvest losses by 70 per cent amongst participating smallholder farmers.
“Through the CoP, we look forward to sharing these experiences and best practices with other organisations involved in similar efforts, Lopes da Silva said.