Every year, World Food Day comes as a reminder to promote solutions for a sustainable food future. Celebrated on October 16, this year’s theme was "Right to Food for a Better Life and a Better Future" emphasising the fundamental human rights to accessible nutritious, affordable and sustainable food to ensure everyone's well-being and dignity.
To mark the occasion, Ind Food & Beverage Association (IFBA) has released a report titled “Call to Action Report – For Reducing Food Wastage”. The report explores the scale of food wastage in India compared to global scenarios, identifies the main reasons for wastage, evaluates the effectiveness of existing policies, and recommends strategic interventions to minimize food wastage. Its findings suggest that while India has made some progress, significant opportunities exist to enhance efficiency and reduce waste through integrated approaches involving policy reform, technological innovation, and public awareness campaigns.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Additional Secretary – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, says that India's pre-harvest supply chain is challenged by a combination of factors including limited access to quality inputs, financial constraints, poor infrastructure, climate unpredictability, and policy inefficiencies at the farm level.
“Addressing these issues requires coordinated efforts from the government, private sector, and agricultural communities to build a more resilient and sustainable supply chain. This report rightly addresses the pain points and recommendations to fight these supply chain issues. It also highlights how India as a country can significantly reduce food loss and waste, leading to greater food security, improved farmer incomes, and a more sustainable food system.
Deepak Jolly, chairperson, IFBA, says, “Reducing food wastage is a moral and economic responsibility. By cutting down on waste, we can feed more people, conserve valuable resources, and create a more sustainable future for the food industry and our communities. This report aptly highlights the actionable steps that industry leaders, policymakers, and consumers can take to drive meaningful change and ensure a more sustainable future.”
The report highlights significant gaps in research, policy, and practice which need to be addressed systematically to manage food loss and waste in India. Recommendations to address the national challenge of food loss include adopting a standard metric for estimating food loss and waste that will help generate comparable data from different studies across time and geographies and hence will be more useful for decision-makers, the private sector, and civil society. The global Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard developed by the FLW Protocol could be adopted in India and IFBA can collaborate with government stakeholders to ensure the same.
The second recommendation talks about integrating circular economy principles into food systems to drastically reduce food loss and waste, creating a more sustainable, efficient, and equitable food ecosystem. A circular approach not only benefits the environment but also enhances food security, promotes economic growth, and aligns with the goals of sustainable development.
Implementing supply chain related recommendations to identify hotspots and critical loss points that needs redressal to significantly reduce food loss and waste, leading to greater food security, improved farmer incomes, and a more sustainable food system are also a part. Food loss and waste reduction should be seen as a means towards achieving other objectives including improving food security and nutrition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering pressure on water and land resources, which contribute towards increased productivity and economic growth.
The comprehensive report was presented to and unveiled by Sh. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Additional Secretary – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.