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International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (FLW)
Context:
The UN designated September 29 as International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (FLW), with events jointly hosted by the Food and Agriculture (FAO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). FLW is critical for addressing food security and environmental sustainability.
Global Food Loss and Waste Data:
- FAO 2023 report: 13.2% of global food production is lost between harvest and retail.
- UNEP estimates: 17% of food is wasted between retail and consumer stages.
- Combined, 30% of global food production is lost or wasted, impacting hunger and environmental goals.
- Reducing food loss by even half could feed all the world’s hungry and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 8%-10%.
India’s Food Loss Scenario:
- NABCONS, 2022: India suffers food losses worth Rs 1.53 trillion ($18.5 billion).
- Key losses: 12.5 MMT cereals, 2.11 MMT oilseeds, 1.37 MMT pulses, and 49.9 MMT of horticultural crops annually.
- Post-harvest losses occur largely due to inadequate cold chain infrastructure, affecting food availability and farmer incomes.
Study on Quantity and Quality Losses:
According to ICRIER-ADMI study (2022) across Punjab, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh:
- Soybean: 15.34% post-harvest loss.
- Wheat: 7.87%, Paddy: 6.37%, Maize: 5.95%.
- Losses largely occur during harvesting, threshing, drying, and storage stages, mainly due to low mechanisation and poor logistics.
Importance of Mechanisation:
- Mechanisation can significantly reduce post-harvest losses. For Example, Paddy losses drop to 2.84% with mechanised harvesting and drying.
- Only 4.4% of Indian cultivator households owned tractors (AIDIS, 2019).
- Small and marginal farmers, comprising 86% of Indian agricultural households, often lack access to expensive machinery.
- Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) can help through group leasing and shared machinery usage.
Need for Improved Drying and Storage Infrastructure
- Traditional sun drying is risky (foreign matter contamination, uneven drying, exposure to moisture, mycotoxins).
- Solar dryers and dehydrators are cost-effective, climate-friendly, and beneficial for small farmers.
- Poor storage infrastructure contributes to about 10% of food grain losses annually (IGSMRI, 2021).
- The Indian government has launched a plan to expand storage capacity by 70 MMT over the next five years to reduce storage losses.
Policy Support for Farmers:
- Technological improvements need to be backed by strong policy support for small and marginal farmers to access new methods.
- The Jute Packaging Material Act (JPMA, 1987) mandates jute bags for rice and wheat packaging, but jute has several drawbacks (high water usage, rodent issues).
- There’s a need to explore alternatives like airtight bags to reduce storage and transportation losses.
- Reducing food loss and waste is key to improving economic efficiency, food security, and resilience in food systems. Technological innovations, policy reforms, and infrastructure improvements can significantly mitigate post-harvest losses, benefiting both people and the planet. This aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2): Zero Hunger, by ensuring more food reaches those in need and promoting sustainable agriculture.