Reducing Food Losses and Waste

Reducing Food Losses and

Waste in Asian Countries for

Improved Food Security and

Agri-food Chain Efficiency

Rosa S. Rolle, Ph.D

Senior Agro-Industries and Post-harvest Officer

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Rosa.Rolle@fao.org

Save Food Asia-Pacific Campaign

– Raise awareness and draw attention to the high levels of food losses and the growing problem of food waste across Asia and the Pacific Region.

– Promote partnerships, and advocate for strategic approaches and actions to reduce food losses and waste and increase sustainable consumption in the region.

– Launched on 28 August 2013 during a High Level Multi-stakeholder Consultation, convened in Bangkok.

A Regional Campaign that seeks to:

“With the Save Food Asia-Pacific Campaign, we pledge to work together and create regional and national multi-stakeholder networks toward reducing food losses along the supply chain and fight the growing problem of food waste.”

Awareness Raising and Advocacy

– Development of Save Food Networks: • National

• A Regional

– Education and awareness in schools and universities

– Public service announcements

– Development and distribution of promotional materials in local languages across the region.

Countries

• Launched in Mongolia, Thailand

• To be launched in: – SAARC countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka)

– ASEAN countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Singapore, Laos

Wa

Modern and Traditional Supply Chains Operate in

Parallel Across the Region

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

Fresh Produce on Display in Supermarkets and in Wet Markets

Reasons Why Consumers Waste Vegetables Case of the Philippines

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Forgot to eatPoor qualityForgot to cookOver bought Others Forgot to eatPoor qualityForgot to cookOver bought Others

Wet market shoppers Supermarket shoppers

Re

spo

nd

en

ts (

%)

Cabbage

Pechay

Eggplant

Squash

Carrot

Tomato

Onion

Potato

Bittergourd

Lack of meal

planning?

Wet market shoppers Supermarket shoppers

A Majority of Consumers Waste Less than 5 % of Their Vegetable Purchases

Case of the Philippines

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Lessthan 5%

5-10% 11-20% Morethan20%

Lessthan 5%

5-10% 11-20% Morethan20%

Wet market shoppers Supermarket shoppers

Re

spo

nd

en

ts (

%)

Cabbage

Pechay

Eggplant

Squash

Tomato

Onion

Potato

Carrot

Bitter gourd

String beans

Consumer Attitudes Toward Fruit and Vegetable Waste Case of the Philippines

0

10

20

30

40

50

Wet market buyers Supermarket buyers

Re

spo

nd

en

ts (

%)

Not at all

Only a little

Fairly bothered

Moderately bothered

Too much botheres

Source – FAO-RAP Study, 2013

CAPACITY BUILDING TO REDUCE POST-HARVEST LOSS IN GMS COUNTRIES FUNDED UNDER THE FAO TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME (TCP)

Methodology

• Stakeholder sensitization and surveys

• Market surveys

• Training of trainers

• Pilot demonstrations

• Documentation of results

• Dissemination of results

• Consolidation of feedback

• Policy recommendations for Governments

Traditional System Improvements Introduced

Papaya Supply Chain - Laos

Commonly Used Transport System for Papayas

60 % Loss Reduction with Improved Packaging

Traditional Tomato

Supply Chain -

Cambodia

Improvements Introduced

85 % loss reduction with the introduction

of plastic crates

Banana Supply Chain – Viet Nam

Traditional Improved

48 % Loss Reduction with Improved Handling and Packaging Practice

Issues • No reward for quality in mass markets. • Access to finance to procure crates. • Proper management and maintenance of plastic

crates. • Widespread adoption of improved practice will

hinge greatly on an improved enabling environment – policy brief under development.

Requirement (Billion USD)

%

Primary crop production 1,684 57 Downstream support services

• Cold and dry storage

• Rural and wholesale markets

• First stage processing

1266 305 280 682

42.9 24

22.2 58.8

Cumulative Investment Requirements for East Asia - 2005/07 to 20501

1Source: Capital Requirements for Agriculture in Developing Countries to 2050. FAO Rome (2009) (All numbers are in 2009 US$ values)

Thank you

www.savefood.net