Join us as we explore the effects of food loss reduction on economic growth, poverty alleviation, and food security. Discover the links between reducing food loss and strengthening food security, and explore how this strategic approach can shape economic prosperity. Furthermore, we’ll examine its role in enhancing quality of life and diminishing poverty rates.

This event will be in English with Spanish interpretation.

Speaker:  Emerta Aragie, Research Fellow, IFPRI

This work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS). CGIAR launched NPS with national and international partners to build policy coherence, respond to policy demands and crises, and integrate policy tools at national and subnational levels in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR centers participating in NPS are The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.

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The Food Systems for Nutrition Innovation Lab (FSN-IL) is a consortium led by Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, funded under USAID through the Feed the Future Initiative. In the target geographies of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the Lab’s goal is to identify and promote uptake of novel technologies, practices or information flows that help in i) reducing food loss and waste, ii) improve food safety, and iii) enhance access to nutrient-dense (often perishable) foods.

This is the second of three webinars conducted in collaboration with Thriving Solutions. In this webinar, speakers will discuss food loss and waste basics while touching upon different drivers and causes that lead to food loss and waste along the value chain. They will also introduce global targets and related international measurement methodologies that address this issue. They will look at different valorization methods that relate to the FLW hierarchy and give examples of these valorization options. Finally, They will hear from an expert speaker that has developed an AI system to address and reduce food loss and waste.

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According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about one-third of all food produced around the globe is lost or wasted. This is particularly egregious in a world where one in nine persons is food insecure, and widespread food affordability concerns in low- and middle-income countries have resulted from COVID-related value chain disruptions and the global impact of the war in Ukraine. 

This annual event will take stock of efforts around the world to tackle food loss and waste through initiatives like Champions 12.3, a coalition of leaders from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 by 2030.

The seminar will also take a closer look at fruits and vegetables, which are among the healthiest but most wasted foods. Given their perishable nature, great care, attention, and cooperation along all parts of fruit and vegetable value chains are required to reduce food loss and waste.

Welcome

• Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI
• Jacob Jensen, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark

Keynote Address

• Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Panel Discussion

• Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI
• Muhammad Yakubu Bubayaro, Founder/CEO, Bunkasa Agritech 
• Shannon Sajdak, Senior Sustainability Manager, Apeel
• Signe Frese, Director of CSR and Quality, Coop Denmark

Closing Remarks

• Liz Goodwin, Senior Fellow and Director Food Loss and Waste, World Resources Institute (WRI)

Moderator

• Luciana Delgado, Senior Research Analyst, IFPRI

Every year about a third of all food produced is either lost during production, distribution, and processing or wasted at the retail and consumer level. With 811 million people facing hunger in 2020, this food loss and waste is egregious. Food loss and waste also has significant negative environmental impacts, accounting for almost 10 percent of global GHG emissions as well as a wasteful use of a quarter of the world’s freshwater resources and of farmland that exceeds the size of China. Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3 calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses by 2030.

The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit highlighted the importance of reducing food loss and waste to achieve a sustainable food system and deliver on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  But what are effective solutions for a livable planet and to guarantee sufficient and healthy food for future generations? What needs to change in production processes? What can and should consumers do? How can all generations get involved?

At this seminar, young changemakers associated with the World Food Forum will pose questions and engage in a dialogue with a panel of leaders from the farm, business, and policy communities to push forward the global discussion of workable solutions.  

Welcome

• Mikkel Dam Schwartz, Minister Counsellor Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Embassy of Denmark - Washington D.C

Opening Remarks

• Rasmus Prehn, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark (pre-recorded video remarks)
• Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Rob Vos, Director of Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI

Panel Discussion

• Theo de Jager, President, World Farmer Organisation
• Yolanda Kakabadse Former President, World Wildlife Fund International (WWF) and Former Minister of Environment for the Republic of Ecuador
• Mette Lykke, CEO, Too Good to Go
• Ken West, Reefer Digital Development Manager, MAERSK

Closing Remarks

• Craig Hanson, Vice President for Food, Forest, Water & the Ocean, World Resources Institute (WRI)

Moderators

• Dr. Rachel V. Brown, Co-founder and Executive Director, The Every Mikkle Foundation
• Lisanne Van Oosterhoud, European Climate Pact Ambassador in Netherlands, European Union

With less than nine years left to reach SDG goal 12, target 12.3 – by 2030 halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels, and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post- harvest losses – the second observance will highlight the urgent need to accelerate collective action to reduce food loss and waste.

A clear call to action will be made for the public (national or local authorities) and the private (businesses, including producers) sectors, as well as individuals, to prioritize actions and move ahead with innovation to reduce food loss and waste and contribute to restoring and building-back-better agri-food systems.

You are kindly invited to join the global virtual event in observance of the second International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.

Heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will share their perspectives on the issues and actions required to stem the problem. A high-level panel will provide their perspectives, and a keynote presentation will seek to provoke further thought on the issues.

Representatives from the European Commission and from Italy will also share their views and perspectives on the issues and on progress achieved in addressing food loss and food waste.

A roundtable panel will discuss scalable innovations that contribute to accelerating the pace of food loss and waste reduction globally, toward delivering on better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life.

Please register at the following link:

https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gHCImF-QS52w1lYrAVWjQA

Interpretation will be provided in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

In addition, kindly find attached the file titled ‘Guidelines for participants to Zoom Webinars’, available only in English.

For further information, including agenda of the event and other relevant material, please visit our website or kindly contact Food-Loss-Waste-Day@fao.org

Tentative Agenda

Moderator – Kimberly Sullivan, Communication Coordinator, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

15:55    Curtain-raiser

16:00    Messages

• His Holiness Pope Francis
• António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

16:05    Welcome

• Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

16:10    Opening remarks

• QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
• Gilbert F. Houngbo, President, International Fund for Agriculture Development
• David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme

      Remarks

• H.E. Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner, Health and Food Safety, European Commission
• H.E. Jože Podgoršek, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Slovenia
• H.E. Stefano Patuanelli, Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Italy

16:55    Keynote: Food loss and waste and their nutritional impacts: an agri-food systems perspective

• Nancy Aburto, Deputy Director, Food and Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

     Special Presentation: The Food Systems Summit Food Loss and Waste Coalition

• Liz Goodwin, OBE, Senior Fellow and Director, Food Loss and Waste, World Resources Institute

    Video Presentation- Food is Never Waste

17:10    Country Focus: Rwanda

• Food Loss and Waste reduction in Rwanda – An Agricultural Perspective
  H.E. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (speaker tbc)
• Food Loss and Waste reduction in Rwanda – An Environmental Perspective
  H.E. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment, Rwanda (speaker tbc)

17:20    Moderated panel: Accelerating the pace of food loss and waste reduction toward improving agri-food systems outcomes

• Innovations in aflatoxin management for food loss and waste reduction toward improving food safety, nutrition and healthy diets
  Vivian Hoffmann, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute

• Packaging innovation: a scalable option to reduce food loss and food waste
  Claire Sand, Global Packaging Expert
• Community food-sharing platforms and their impacts on food security
  Ankit Kawatra, Founder and Director, Zomato Feeding India
• Social impact platforms – Too Good To Go
  Christophe Diercxsens, Global Public Affairs Manager, Too Good To Go
• Food loss and waste legislation (speaker tbc)
  Nie Fengying, Deputy Director General, Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

17:50    Video message

• Massimo Bottura, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Chef and Food System Activist

17:55    Closing remarks

• Kazuki Kitaoka, Manager, World Food Forum 2021, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Join us on March 12, 2021 for an IFPRI Policy Seminar on food loss and waste.

The ongoing COVID-19 health crisis continues to expose vulnerabilities in food systems, highlighting the insecurity of rural livelihoods, the tragedy of food loss and waste, and the stark inequities in access to healthy food. The upcoming, first-ever UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), presents a unique opportunity to bring together stakeholders from across the food value chain to address these challenges and unlock barriers to sustainable food systems transformation.

Absurd quantities of food are lost and wasted every year in a world where 700 million people go hungry each day and where planetary boundaries are being exceeded by unsustainable food production. Drastic reduction of food loss and waste is therefore imperative and will be an essential part of the UNFSS agenda.

This policy seminar will serve as a platform to discuss actionably, “game-changing” solutions to reduce food loss and waste on a global scale (SDG 12.3) and provide inputs to the UNFSS agenda. Built around the Champions 12.3 Initiative and the Technical Platform for the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste, the seminar will be held, fittingly, on March 12 (12.3).

Watch live

Welcome

• Troels Vensild, Minister Counsellor of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Embassy of Denmark, USA

Opening Remarks

• Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI

Keynote Speakers

• Agnes Kalibata, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to the 2021 Food Systems Summit

• Rasmus Prehn, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark

Rapid Fire Presentations

• Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, CEO, Coldhubs Nigeria
• Richard Swannell, Director, WRAP Global

• Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

• Jessica Vieira, Director of Sustainability, Apeel Sciences

Closing Remarks

• Craig Hanson, Vice President For Food, Forest, Water & The Ocean, World Resources Institute

Moderator

• Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions, IFPRI