Event: Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet
29 September is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Sustainable food production plays a fundamental role in promoting food security and nutrition. Global observance of this day marks a clear call to action for all stakeholders in both public and private sectors to bolster efforts to reduce food loss and waste. This year, the day will be marked under unprecedented conditions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sounded a global wake-up on the need to transform our food systems from production to consumption.
To celebrate this day, SNV (Netherlands Development Organization); Society of Crop Agribusiness Advisors of Kenya (SOCAA); University of Nairobi; Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries, Kenya; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO-Kenya) and other partners are organizing a webinar to engage stakeholders and create awareness on Food Loss and Waste.
Date and time
Sep 29, 2020 03:00 PM (Nairobi time)
Register for the webinar
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_in1OPgKGTnOcw29udsD2rA
Context
It is estimated that 30% of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted in the supply chain, while at the same time 820 million vulnerable people go without food. This situation has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce it, including water, land, energy, labour and capital are wasted. In addition, the disposal of food loss and waste in landfills, leads to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. Therefore reducing food loss and waste has societal and environmental benefits including: increased food availability to the most vulnerable, reduction in GHG emissions, reduced pressure on land and water resources and increased productivity and economic growth. It is also essential to increase the efficiency in the way our food is produced, distributed and consumed. These benefits inform our theme for this year ‘Stop Food Loss and Waste - For the People. For The Planet’.
The negative impacts of FLW has drawn international attention as reflected in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Specifically under Sustainable Development Goals 12 on sustainable production and consumption, target 12.3 calls for ‘halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and the reduction of food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses by the year 2030’. Similarly the African Union has set a target of halve postharvest losses by the year 2025 under the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods. Reduction of FLW has direct impact on other SDGs including Zero Hunger (SDG 1), No Poverty (SDG 2), Climate action (SDG 13).
The international day of awareness of FLW is an opportunity to rally all stakeholders in the food sector including producers, traders, policy makers, businesses, researchers/academia, development partners, civil society and other non-state actors to joint action towards FLW reduction. Transformative actions and interventions are required at every stage of the supply chain, from production to consumption and marketing of food. These interventions include technologies/innovations, good practices, better organization of actors, market linkages and marketing (including e-commerce/digital platforms), innovative value addition, consumer education, capacity building at all stages, enabling policies among others.
