Management of Food Losses and Food Waste for Food Security in the Asia-Pacific: FAO’s SAVE FOOD AP...

Rosa S. Rolle, PhD

Senior Agro-Industries and Post-harvest Officer

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Inception and Planning Workshop Sustaining and Enhancing the Momentum for Innovation and Learning around the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in the Lower Mekong River Basin

Forces that shape the region’s food system

Strategies to address hunger and food insecurity

Food losses and waste ◦ Causes, magnitude and impacts

The Save Food Campaign ◦ Objectives

◦ Outputs

◦ Activities

Population growth coupled with rising living standards.

Increasing urbanization and changing dietary habits.

Declining land resources for agriculture and a growing scarcity of water resources.

The threat of climate change.

Rising food prices, rising energy prices and declining farm incomes.

High levels of food losses and the growing problem

of food waste

Properly managing these forces to assure the food security and nutrition of

current and future populations in the Region

Increase food productivity using existing land.

Address the critical issue of reducing food losses and waste.

Food Losses ◦ Take place at the beginning of the supply

chain - during production, post-harvest handling, processing and distribution stages of the food supply chain

Food Waste ◦ Food losses occurring at the end of the food

supply chain and is largely associated with the behavior of retailers, the food service sector and consumers.

Wa

Farmer Groups

Supermarkets Institutions

Food Service Sector Export

Farmers

Collectors

Wholesalers

Retailers and Street Vendors

Mass Market

Higher Income Consumers

Contracts

L O S S E S W

A S T E

Waste

Processing & Packaging

Distribution

RETAIL LEVEL WASTE -Sorting, Grading, - Over-buying

- Passed “Sell-by Date”

Consumer WASTE - Poor planning - Cooking too much - Poor storage - Poor food preparation - Confusion with “sell- by dates.” - Over-sized portions - Culture

Table Waste, a growing problem

FAO 2011

95 115

80

11

Traditional Supply Chains are Characterized

By Multi-layered Channels

Lack of a market orientation

Pest infestations and disease

Poor/inadequate ◦ Basic infrastructure and market facilities

◦ Post-harvest specific infrastructure and technology

Dry and cool storage

◦ Transport

◦ Bulk Packaging

Limited knowledge base of stakeholders

Poorly integrated supply chains

Weak institutional support for post-harvest

systems development

Limited knowledge base on processing and lack of technology suited to small scale processing

0

2

4

6

8

10

1 2 2

1 2 2

3

7 6

5 6

10 Minimum Maximum

%

Post-harvest Losses in Rice Range Between 10 and 37 %

0

2

4

6

8

HarvestingField

SelectionTransport

Storage at

wholesale

market

ProcessingHandling at

wholesale

market

During

urban

distribution

2

1

5

4

1

5

2

5

2

8 8

5

8 8 Level of Loss (%)

Source: Zaw and Kywe, 2012

Data Reported for Myanmar

Negative impact on hunger, food security and nutrition.

Negative environmental impacts because of the energy, biodiversity, greenhouse gases, water, soil and other resources embedded in food that no one consumes.

◦ Awareness Of the magnitude of losses and their impacts on

food security

◦ Organization/coordination in supply chains Producer organizations, contract farming, clustering,

etc.

◦ Human resource capacity development

◦ Technology and essential support systems Production, post-harvest and processing technology Logistics, information management, access to finance

and support services.

◦ An enabling environment Infrastructure, policy support

A Campaign designed to draw attention to the high levels of food losses and the growing problem of food waste, and particularly table waste across Asia and the Pacific Region.

Initiated in collaboration with Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) ◦ Campaign Secretariat is hosted by the ACISAI

Center of AIT.

Through the development of partnerships and networks with a range of stakeholders:

◦ Raise public awareness on the magnitude of food losses and waste in the region and their impacts on food security and hunger.

◦ Advocate for the reduction of food losses and waste in the region, as an important measure toward attaining MDG1.

…..Through the development of partnerships and networks with a range of stakeholders: ◦ Promote the development of policy measures and

strategic approaches geared toward reducing food losses and waste in Asia and the Pacific Region

◦ Guide the development of interventions geared toward reducing food losses and waste in the region.

Awareness raised at all levels across the

region on the magnitude of food losses and waste in the region, its impacts on hunger and food security, and strategies to mitigate these losses and wastes.

A three-year regional programme formulated

and initiated with the aim to reduce food losses and food waste in Asia and the Pacific Region

A two-day consultation to promote awareness and obtain high level endorsement of the campaign

Distribution of promotional materials

Documentaries highlighting food losses and waste ◦ Targeting higher level audiences

◦ Targeting schools

Publicity through a Save Food web-site and through social media

Promotional Events ◦ TV talk show ◦ Drawing competition – high school level ◦ Photography competition ◦ Marathon/rally/walk ◦ “Blow the Whistle on waste” in schools

Strategic programmes with partners ◦ Cooperation with the food retail and food service

sectors

Thank You Save Food A-P