Collaboration Initiative on Food Losses & Food Wastes launched at MACS-G20
Reducing food losses & food wastes (FLW) is a key global challenge to ensure sufficient and healthy food for the future and to use available resources – arable land, water, nutrients, energy, labour – as efficiently as possible.
Background & Objective
Radical reduction of food losses and waste (FLW) is a crucial issue to ensure global food security and to use the available resources in the best manner possible. Not for nothing United Nations identified FLW reduction as Goal 12.3 of Sustainable Development Goals.
Hence at MACS Meeting 2015 in Izmir (Turkey) the G20 States decided to place emphasis on FLW. Germany was charged with developing relevant activities. First step was the establishment of an appropriate web portal with information about current research activities, latest innovations and available scientific expertise.
But only collecting and documenting information isn’t enough. In fact G20 States should unite their strong potentials and make significant contribution to real progress. So as next step a joint MACS initiative is scheduled pooling promising research findings, innovative technological and logistical solutions, successful campaigns etc. concerning FLW reduction. Goal is to organize "touchable" progress.
Germany coordinates the bi- and multilateral activities of the initiative. For further information please contact Dr. Felicitas Schneider at Thünen Institute of Market Analysis.
Web portal regarding FLW research & experts
Registration at the web portal is open to experienced persons working in the field of food loss and waste prevention at any point of the whole food supply chain. Registration is free of charge. Aim of the platform is to provide direct contact to experts on FLW on a global scale.
Annual reports of the Collaboration Initiative
Our joint activities as well as updates from collaborating countries related to food loss and waste are summarised in our annual reports which you can download on the right. The reports are published at the end of each calender year.
In case you are interested to receive our annual reports automatically, you are welcome to contact our coordinator Felicitas.
Joint activities at the Global Forum of Food and Agriculture 2024
"Reducing food loss and waste" was one of the central themes of the 16th Global Forum of Food and Agriculture (GFFA) which took place in Berlin from January 18th to 20th, 2024. Our Collaboration Initiative FLW was very active - together with cooperation partners, we held an Expert Panel, organised an exhibition stand - and were invited as key note speaker to another Expert Panel organised by the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA).
The Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture visited our exhibition stand were we presented activities from A like Australia to Z like Zimbabwe. A huge number of our cooperation partners contributed to display the variety of food loss and waste challenges and solutions: banana losses in Sri Lanka, urban circular food systems in Brazil, storage pests in Germany, streetmarket FW in Zimbabwe, persimmon harvest losses in Spain, a set of social innovations to reduce FW in Europe, reduction of by-catch in the Baltic Sea, redistribution of surplus food in Europe, fruit and vegetables losses due to private marketing standards in Germany, Spain and Italy and voluntary agreements in wholesale, retail and food service sector in Germany.
Our Expert Panel "From global strategies to local implementation in preventing FLW" took place on January 19th, 2024. It was organised in close cooperation with the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse gases (GRA), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and thinkstep-anz. Aim of the panel was to show opportunities how to connect high-level policy and on the ground practice involving multiple actors. About 90 multinational participants followed the discussions on-site and online. A summary and the video recordings of this Expert Panel can be found here. The presentations of Dr Chanjief Chandrakumar (thinkstep-anz/GRA), Dr Felicitas Schneider (Thünen Institute), Dr Gustavo Porpino (Embrapa) and Sharon Mada (Thünen Institute) provided insights into climate impacts of FLW, an overview on the Collaboration Initiative FLW activities from global to local level, details on the Brazilian Cities and Food project and results from household food waste in Zimbabwe.
Our key note address was part of the Expert Panel "From farm to food donation. How to maximise the potential of preventing harvest losses to ensure food security?" provided the framework for the lively discussion performed by Chris Hill from FoodCloud, Adolfo Villafiorita from Shair.Tech and Eva Sali from Copa*Cogeca. Rosa Rolle from FAO FLW team concluded the panel related to unexplored and unexploited potential to reduce food losses in primary production in context to food redistribution. A summary and the video recordings of this Expert Panel can be found here.
We would like to thank everyone involved in our joint GFFA activities! Please explore also the photos below.
Workshops for joint FLW action
Annual FLW workshops are organised by our Collaboration Initiative since 2017. The first one was targeting G20 members to collect needs how to best support their activities towards food loss and waste prevention. According to the findings from 2017, the following annual regional FLW workshops are dedicated to the respective G20 presidency country and the neighbouring region.
The aim of our workshops is to support the delivery of SDG Target 12.3, halving food waste at retail, food service and household level, and reducing food loss across the supply chain as well as to facilitate the cooperation and network building among countries in the region. The topics are annually selected according to relevant local challenges in close cooperation with regional partner organisations. The programme follows our strategy to enhance knowledge exchange and structured discussion among our participants in order to support action. In most cases our workshops consist of plenary sessions, working group sessions as well as field trips. Stakeholders along the food supply chain from agriculture (e.g., farmers, farmer associations) to waste management, businesses, research, policy makers (local, regional, national government), NGOs, consumer (associations), social organisations (such as food banks, etc.) are welcome to participate and share their valuable experiences. The participation in our workshops is free of charge.
Below you can find detailed information on each workshop, such as agenda, summaries, resulting agreements, presentations, photos and videos. Enjoy!
1st FLW workshop, June 2017, Berlin/Germany
Successful MACS driven activities concerning FLW reduction require both a coherent strategy and its well-considered implementation. As announced at MACS Meeting 2016 in Xi’an (China), this perennial process started with a kick-off workshop of interested MACS partners in June 2017 in Berlin.
2nd FLW Workshop, November 2018, Buenos Aires/Argentina
Thus, the second FLW workshop was organised in November 2018 in Buenos Aires/Argentina. The Argentinian Secretary of Agroindustry, FAO Latin America and the Caribbean, FAO Argentina, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) and Thünen Institute organised the side event “Regional Dialogue on Food Loss and Waste: Latin American solutions and initiatives” that was embedded within the FAO event “Week of Food and Agriculture”.
In plenary and working group sessions several issues of food loss and waste were presented and discussed among the approx. 50 participants from eleven Latin American and Caribbean countries. The participants represented a very good mix of policy decision makers, food producers, NGOs, international associations and researchers.
At the end of the workshop, the “Call to Buenos Aires Action on Food Loss and Waste” was signed by all organisers and by representatives from the Interamerican Development Bank, the Consumer Goods Forum as well as the Global Food Banking Network (english version, spanish version of the call). By signing this Call the participants underlined their strong commitment for future joint cooperation and support of food waste prevention activities in the region.
3rd FLW Workshop, October 2019, Tokyo/Japan
The "International Workshop on Food Loss and Waste Prevention targeting Southeast and East Asian region" as third event of the series took place in Tokyo from October 16th to 18th, 2019. It was implemented together with UN Environment’s programme of regional capacity building workshops on FLW and the FAO´s World Food Day 2019. The organisation team included the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan as the presidency holder of 2019 MACS-G20, FAO Japan, UN Environment and Thünen Institute.
The aim of the workshop was to support the delivery of SDG Target 12.3, halving food waste at retail and consumer level, and reducing food loss across the supply chain as well as to facilitate the cooperation and network building among countries in Asia with respect to sharing knowledge and experiences in measuring and reducing FLW at all levels. It provided guidance on setting baselines and measuring progress on FLW, defining a national strategy on FLW reduction, developing effective actions targeting households and the supply chain, and using FLW to raise ambition on greenhouse gas reduction in the 2020 Nationally Determined Contributions revision.
In total, 78 participants from Japan, Singapore, China, Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and Germany as well as from FAO and UNEP attended the workshop at United Nations University Headquarters (UNU Centre, Tokyo). A workshop summary is provided to the public for further inspiration and networking.
Please find the presentations as links embedded to the following agenda.
| October 16th, 2019 | |
|---|---|
| 14:30 - 17:30 | Excursion |
| 18:00 – 19:20 | Symposium as World Food Day Event |
| 19:30 – 20:50 | Welcome reception |
| October 17th, 2019 (Elizabeth Rose Conference Hall, 5th floor) chair: Mr. Shunichi Honda (UNEP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 - 09:30 | Welcome address | |||
| 09:30 – 09:50 | Keynote speech“Background of the Promulgation of the Act on Promotion of Food Loss and Waste Reduction in Japan” | |||
| 09:50 – 11:20 | Session 1: FLW measurement and reporting | |||
| 11:20 – 11:35 | Coffee break | |||
| 11:35 – 13:05 | Session 2: Household Food Waste | |||
| 13:05 - 13:15 | Group photo | |||
| 13:15 - 14:00 | Lunch | |||
| October 17th, 2019 (Elizabeth Rose Conference Hall, 5th floor) | |
|---|---|
| chair: Ms. Anuda Tawatsin (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment/Thailand) | |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Session 3: Legal challenges and policy options |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee break |
| chair: Mr. Kohei Watanabe (Teikyo University/Japan) | |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Session 4: poster session “Utilisation of food waste to animal feed – the example of ecofeed” (Mr. Tomoyuki Kawashima/University of Miyazaki/Japan) |
| 17:00 – 18:30 | Session 5: Post-harvest losses – challenges and perspectives in East and Southeast Asian countries |
| October 18th, 2019 (Elizabeth Rose Conference Hall, 5th floor) | |
|---|---|
| chair: Mr. Stefan Lange (Thünen Institute/Germany) | |
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Session 6: Adressing Food Waste in the food service sector |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 - 12:30 | Session 7: National Stategies on Food Loss and Waste |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch |
| chair: Mr. Kohei Watanabe (Teikyo University/Japan) | |
| 13:30 – 14:30 | Session 8: Facilitating cooperation and network building on Food Loss and Waste in the region |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Wrap up and closing remarks
|
Pictures from 3rd FLW Workshop, October 2019, Tokyo/Japan
4th FLW Workshop, October 2020, hybrid, Saudi Arabia
The "Regional Food Loss & Waste Workshop" as fourth event of the series took place as hybrid event hosted in Riyadh on October 15th, 2020. The organisation team included the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia as the G20 presidency holder of 2020 as well as Thünen Institute.
The 65 participants from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain and Germany as well as from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) represented the scientific community, companies, interest groups as well as authorities.
The aim of the workshop was to provide impetus for the establishment of regional networks and cooperation along the value chain to facilitate further monitoring of food loss and waste and im-plementation of prevention measures in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Particular emphasis was placed on the link between food security and food waste, business models for prevention, the contribution of households to the topic and the role of an unbroken cold chain as well as reliable infrastructure. Participants also reported on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the food supply chain in their countries and the measures taken to secure the supply and avoid unused surpluses. Special emphasis was placed on the cultural characteristics of the region, such as the joint celebration of large festivals, which lead to above-average amounts of surplus food. In addition to technical solutions to the special challenges posed by the region´s climate, the conference therefore called for awareness-raising measures for all stakeholders.
The host country Saudi Arabia is the only one in the Gulf region that has already published a baseline for the amount of food waste generation in 2019. Other countries in the region now want to follow this example and benefit from Saudi expertise.
Please find the agenda as well as the presentations by session embedded in the following list. Some impressions of the hybrid event can be found in the photo gallery below.
| Thursday, October 15th 2020 | |
|---|---|
| 12:30 - 12:45 | |
Welcoming Address Chairperson of the G20-MACS 2020 Prof. Suliman Ali Al-Khateeb (Director General Plant Resources, Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Introduction Mr. Stefan Lange (Research director, Thünen Institute, Germany) UNEP Overview of Food Loss & Waste Initiative Mr. Sami Dimassi (Director and Regional Representative, West Asia Office, United Nations Environment Programme) | |
| 12:45 - 13:30 | Session 1. Food Losses & Waste Strategy to enhance Food Security |
Moderator: Miss Arwa Numan (Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Food Waste and Loss: an integral part of achieving sustainable Food Security Mr. Essa AbdulRahman AlHashemi (Head of Food and Water Security, United Arab Emirates) Food Loss and Waste in the wheat value chain of Egypt, Jordan and Morocco Dr. Yigezu Atnafe Yigezu (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Egypt) Food Security Strategy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Eng. Abdullah AlRabiah (Saudi Grains Organisation (SAGO), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Discussion (15 min) | |
| 13:30 - 14:20 | Session 2. Strategies for fighting food waste in business sector |
Moderator: Dr. Felicitas Schneider (coordinator FLW Collaboration Initiative launched at MACS-G20, Thünen Institute, Germany) Challenges for Food Loss and Waste infrastructure and logistics in Gulf Cooperation Council countries Mr. Najeeb Alhumaid (Farrelly & Mitchell Business Consultants Ltd.) Measuring Food Waste at hotels and restaurants and economic benefit from prevention: The Food Waste Opportunity Mr. Ignacio Ramirez (Winnow Solutions, United Arab Emirates) Food Bank cooperation as a strategy to fight Food Waste Mr. Amer AlDakhil (Secretary-General Specialized Council for the Preservation of Grace, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Discussion (20 min) | |
| 14:20 - 14:40 | Coffee break |
| 14:40 - 15:30 | Session 3. Food Waste at Household level |
Moderator: Miss Arwa Numan (MEWA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Food Waste Index Mrs. Clementine O´Connor (Programme Management Officer, UNEP) Strategies for Food Waste Reduction at Household level Mr. Tarik Ismail (Chief Executive Officer, Savola World) Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Food Loss and Waste Baseline Dr. Mohammed S. Alamri (Saudi Grains Organisation (SAGO), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Discussion (20 min) | |
| 15:30 - 16:20 | Session 4. Panel Discussion on the role of Cold Chain in Gulf Cooperation Council region to consolidate food supply chain |
Moderator: Mr. Stefan Lange (Thünen Institute, Germany) Cold Chain Strategy to consolidate food chain in GCC countries Mr. Abdullah Hamdan Al-Anazi (LuLu Saudi Hyper Market) Cold Chain Strategy to consolidate food chain in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prof. Salah Mohammed Aleid (King Faisal University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Discussion (30 min) | |
| 16:20 - 16:30 | Closing session |
Concluding Remarks Dr. Felicitas Schneider (Thünen Institute, Germany) Closing Remarks Prof. Suliman Ali Al-Khateeb (MEWA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) | |
Pictures from 4th FLW Workshop, October 15th, 2020, Riyadh/Saudi Arabia
5th FLW Workshop, November 2021, virtual/Italy
The annual series of regional FLW workshops was continued on November 4th, 2021 and dedicated to the respective G20 presidency country - which was Italy in 2021 - and the neighbouring region. The organisation team included FAO Rome (Italy), UN Environment (France), University Bologna (Italy), University Tuscia (Italy), RSC talent (Spain) and Thünen Institute (Germany).
The aim of the workshop was to support the delivery of SDG Target 12.3, halving food waste at retail, food service and household level, and reducing food loss across the supply chain as well as to facilitate the cooperation and network building among Mediterranean countries. Due to the pandemic, the length of the workshop was shortened to a one day virtual meeting.
The topics therefore have to focus on selected issues which have been identified as relevant challenges within the region:
- Food Loss in Primary Production
- Food surplus and waste from tourism activities as well as
- Addressing Food loss and waste in educational campaigns
As the Mediterranean region is characterised by the influence of three continents and corresponding culture, policy, infrastructure, legislation and climate conditions, we invited contributors from all three subregions (Northafrican coast, West Asian coast and Southeuropean coast) to share their valueable knowledge on FLW prevention. The programme followed our strategy to enhance knowledge exchange and structured discussion among our participants in order to support action. Each session consisted of introductory plenary presentations to provide input on the specific session topic followed by group working guided by key questions. A final plenary session was scheduled in order to allow a broader discussion of the interrelation of the three session topics and the context to other levels of the food supply chain and to summarise the results.
Please find here the agenda, the summary and some photos below on this page.
In total, 90 stakeholders from national and local policy makers, universities, private and public research institutions, social welfare organisations, food companies, waste management companies and consultants from 27 different countries joined us and shared their valuable experiences!
The presentations are embedded within the following agenda which can be unfolded by clicking!
| November 4th, 2021 | |
|---|---|
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Participants online arrival |
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Welcome address chair: Mr Stefan Lange (Thünen Institute/Germany) Mr Stefan Lange (Research Coordinator of Thünen Institute/Germany) |
| 09:30 - 11:00 | Session 1: Food losses in primary production chair: Dr Rosa Rolle and Ms Carola Fabi (FAO Rome) .) Food Losses in agricultural businesses – experiences from practice by Ms Sonsoles Jiménez (RSC talent/Spain) questions and answers 3 parallel working groups: |
| 11:00 - 11:15 | Coffee break |
| 11:15 - 11:30 | Wrap up of session 1 by working group moderators |
| 11:30 - 13:00 | Session 2: Food surplus and waste from tourism activities chair: Dr Clara Cicatiello (University Tuscia/Italy) .) Redirecting food surpluses from cruise ships – experiences from the European Food Banks Federation in European Mediterranean countries by Ms Angela Frigo (Secretary General, European Food Banks Federation) questions and answers 3 parallel working groups: |
| 13:00 - 13:45 | Lunch break |
| 13:45 - 14:00 | Wrap up of session 2 by working group moderators |
| 11:30 - 13:00 | Session 3: Addressing Food loss and waste in educational campaigns chair: Dr Claudia Giordano (University of Bologna, Italy) .) Roll out Do Good: Save Food! educational materials in Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey and France by Ms Oksana Sapiga (FAO Europe and Central Asia) & Mr Thomas Candeal (International Food Waste Coalition/Belgium) questions and answers 3 parallel working groups: |
| 15:30 - 15:45 | Coffee break |
| 15:45 - 16:00 | Wrap up of session 3 by working group moderators |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Session 4: Plenary discussion chair: Ms Carola Fabi (FAO Statistics, Italy) .) Discussing the outcomes of the sessions 1 to 3 in plenary round |
| 16:30 - 16:45 | Wrap up, family photo and closing remarks |
Pictures from 5th FLW Workshop, November 4th, 2021, Italy
6th FLW Workshop, October 5 to 6th, 2022, Yogyakarta/Indonesia
In 2022 we were kindly supported by the Indonesian MACS-G20 secretariat assisted by our colleagues from the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Postharvest Research and Development (ICAPRD), Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI), Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), Simon Fraser University, FAO Indonesia and UN Environmental Programme in co-organising the 6th Regional FLW Workshop. The target region this year included the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The aim of the workshop was to support the exchange among regional stakeholders and enhance practical implementation with the following topics:
Recent Indonesian Initiatives to FLW
Food Waste in ASEAN
Lessons learned from ASEAN Postharvest Food Loss
The programme followed our strategy to enhance knowledge exchange and structured discussion among our participants in order to support action. First, plenary sessions provided introductory presentations which were then followed by working in groups guided by certain key questions.
After two years of pandemic-induced lack of an excursion, we were very happy that we could offer a one-day field trip to our participants. We welcomed 180 stakeholders in person and more than 320 online participants from policy makers, universities, private and public research institutions, social welfare organisations, food companies etc. from nine different countries! Indonesian media was present and reported about the workshop as well.
A summary of our discussions can be found here. Please see the agenda together with the session recordings (videos with english subtitles) and pictures below.
| Wednesday, October 5th 2022 | |
|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:40 | Opening remarks |
Mr Rajendra Aryal (FAO Representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste) Mr Stefan Lange (Research director, Thünen Institute, Germany) Dr Prayudi Syamsuri (Director of ICAPRD, Indonesia) Prof. Fadjry Djufry (DG of IAARD, Indonesia) | |
| 09:40 - 09:50 | Group photo and coffee break |
| 09:50 - 10:40 | Session I: Recent Indonesian G20 Initiatives to FLW Chair person: Dr Azizah Nazala Fauzi (CIPS) Report from International Workshop on FLW: Data Gap on FLW Measurement in G20 members and advancing FLW actions Prof. Handewi (Substantial Team AWG G20) Policy brief: Food Waste Minimization and Circularity for optimizing urban food system resiliance. Ms. Kuntum Melati (Stockholm Environmental Institute) Discussion |
| 10:40 - 11:30 | Session II: Food Waste in ASEAN |
Chair person: Dr Felicitas Schneider (coordinator FLW Collaboration Initiative, Thünen Institute) International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste feat. GRASP activities Ms Young Ran Hur (UNEP Asia Pacific) & Ms Indah Budiani Household Food Waste - studies in Malaysia Prof Kohei Watanabe (Teikyo University Japan) Discussion |
| 11:30 - 12:20 | Session III: Lessons learned from ASEAN Postharvest Food loss |
chair person: Dr Haryono (Binus University) Postharvest Losses in ASEAN Region Prof. S. Joni Munarso (Indonesian Association of Postharvest Technology Experts) Food Loss Measurement in ASEAN Regions Ms Carola Fabi (FAO Statistical Office, Italy) Discussion |
| 12:20 - 13:20 | Lunch break |
| 13:20 - 15:30 | Working Group Sessions |
Facilitators: Dr Felicitas Schneider (Thünen Institute) Mr Stefan Lange (Thünen Institute) Ms Dewi Fatmaningrum (FAO Indonesia) - Video in Bahasa only Prof Kohei Watanabe (Teikyo University) Leading questions:
|
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Coffee break |
| 16:00 - 16:50 | Group presentation & Closing remarks |
| Thursday, October 6th 2022 | |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 16:00 | Field Trip |
| |
| 18:00 - 21:00 | Cultural Night hosted by Bupati Sleman |
Pictures from the 6th FLW Workshop, October 5 to 6th, 2022, Yogyakarta/Indonesia
7th FLW Workshop, October/November 2023, New Delhi/India
In close collaboration with our colleagues from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and with support of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) our next International Workshop on Food Loss and Waste Prevention in South Asian Region took place in New Delhi from October 30th to November 1st, 2023. The workshop topics addressed
- Assessment and Impact of Postharvest Losses and Food Waste
- Prevention of Postharvest Losses in the Supply Chain
- Prevention of Food Waste in Households and Community Activities as well as
- Role of Food Bank Networks and Circular Economy.
We experienced very interesting presentations and discussions! A very a comprehensive summary was kindly provided by Dr Kairam Narsaiah (ICAR Asst. Director General), Dr SN Jha (ICAR Deputy Director General) and the team of rapporteurs mentioned in the agenda. Please find below the agenda with presentations as well as a selection of photos.
October 30th, 2023 | |
|---|---|
| 08:30 - 09:30 | Registration |
| 09:30 - 11:30 | Inauguration Dr Kairam Narsaiah (ICAR) - Historical perspective of food losses |
| 11:30 - 12:00 | High tea |
| 12:00 - 13:30 | Opening session: Introduction of the Workshop Theme and Expected Outcome Social, Economical & Environmental Aspects of Food Loss and Waste/Food Waste Index/SDG 12.3 Chairpersons: Dr Himanshu Pathak (DG, ICAR) & Mr Stefan Lange (research director Thünen Institute) .) Food Waste Index by Ms Clementine O´Connor (UNEP) |
| 13:30 - 14:30 | Group Photo Day 1 and Lunch |
| 14:30 - 18:00 | Technical Session I: Assessment and Impact of Postharvest Losses and Food Waste chairpersons: Dr K.K. Singh (Vice-Chancellor, SVPUAT, Meerut); Mr Sujan Pradhan (Chief Postproduction Officer, NPHC, Bhutan) rapporteurs: Dr Rajesh Vishwakarma, PC AICRP (PHET) & Dr S Mangaraj, HoD, CIAE Bhopal Keynote speakerDr S. N. Jha (DDG (Agril. Engg.), ICAR) Panelists: .) Food Loss & Waste in Bhutan - Country perspective by Mr Karma Dorji (Dy Chief Post Prodn. Officer, NPHC) |
October 31st, 2023 | |
| 09:00 - 11:00 | Technical Session II: Prevention of Postharvest Losses in the Supply Chain chairpersons: Dr S. N. Jha (DDG, Agril. Engg. ICAR) & Dr Pramod Mahajan (Senior Scientist, Leibniz rapporteurs:Dr Sangeeta Chopra, Principal Scientist, IARI; Dr M R Manikantan, Principal Scientist, CPCRI Keynote speaker Mr Stefan Lange (Research Director, Thünen Institute, Germany) Role of Artificial Intelligence and IT in Food Loss and Waste Prevention Panelists: .) Technological interventions in managing Food Supply Chain from Farmers to Consumers by Mr Varun Khurana |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Tea |
| 11:30 - 13:30 | Technical Session III: Prevention of Food Waste in Households and Community Activities chairpersons: Dr Felicitas Schneider (Thünen Institute, Germany) & Dr Md. Mostafizar Rahman (Professor, BSMRAU, Bangladesh) rapporteurs: Dr Sandeep Mann, ICAR-CIPHET; Dr M K Tripathi, ICAR-CIAE Bhopal Keynote speaker: Ms Heena Yadav (FSSAI) FSSAI initiative on Prevention of Food Loss & Waste Panelists: .) Food Waste Management Strategies (including some National Guidelines/Strategies/Policies – International examples/experiences) by Ms Paramita Dutta Dey (NIUA).) Impact of Cultural/Societal Norms on Food Loss & Waste by Dr Meenu Verma (IGNOU) .) Inventory Management Strategies to Reduce Food Loss & Waste by Dr Anurag Tripathi (CWC) and Mr Chanresan Kumar (DGM, Stocks) .) Role of Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Preservation of Food by Dr Shalini Rudra Gaur (ICAR-IARI) .) Questions and Answers & Panel discussion
|
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Group Photo Day 2 and Lunch |
| 15:00 - 18:00 | Technical Session IV: Role of Food Bank Networks and Circular Economy chairpersons: Ms Clementine O’Connor (UNEP) & Dr Kodithuakku Arachchige Sarath Sirilal Kodithuwakku (Dean, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka) rapporteurs: Dr M. S. Sajeev, Principal Scientist, ICAR-CTCRI; Er. Anamika Thakur, Scientist, ICAR-IARI Keynote speaker: Dr Vandana Singh (India FoodBanking Network) Role of Food Bank Networks in prevention of Food Loss & Waste Panelists: .) UNEP Cold-chain Support Programme India by Clementine O´Connor (UNEP) and Mr Angshuman Siddhanta (Cold Chain Expert/UNEP) |
November 01st, 2023 | |
| 09:00 - 13:30 | Field Visit Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetable Pvt Ltd. Mongolpuri New Delhi |
| 13:30 - 14:30 | Group Photo Day 3 and Lunch |
14:30 - 17:00 | Valedictory Session Feedback & Reflection: Delegates share insights & takeaways from the workshop Closing Remarks: concluding the workshop, thanking the participants, speakers, organisations, funding agencies & outlining future actions |
Preparatory Workshop on Food Loss and Waste Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa, April 2024, Nairobi/Kenya
The German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the Ministry of Primary Resources (New Zealand) provided financial resources to implement a workshop outside of our "normal" series as part of the Bilateral Alliance for the Climate. The workshop was jointly organised by Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA), The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the University of Nairobi and the Thünen Institute. Around 40 participants met on April 17 and 18, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the current situation regarding food loss and waste in Sub-Saharan Africa with its challenges and opportunities, to strengthen the regional network, exchange experiences and to prepare the FLW workshop in cooperation with the G20 presidency of South Africa in 2025. The participants covered representatives from research, policy, governmental agencies, consultants, business, Non-Governmental Organisations and United Nations organisations.
Although we only had six weeks to prepare, we were able to put together an interesting program - with plenary lectures, a panel discussion, time for group work and an excursion. A big thank you to everyone involved for their outstanding motivation in making this workshop possible!
The program with the presentations from the plenary session can be found below. The summary is available here. Selected impressions of the workshop can be found in the photo gallery after the program below.
April 17th, 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 08:30 | Registration at venue |
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Opening session Chairperson: Prof Martin Banse (director Thünen Institute of Market Analysis) .) Welcome address by Ministry of Agriculture Kenya .) Welcome address by Prof Stephen Kiama (Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi) .) Welcome address by Dr Ackim Mwape (Global Research Alliance) .) Welcome address by Mr Cecil Haverkamp (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) .) Welcome address by Prof Martin Banse (Thünen Institute) |
| 09:00 - 10:00 | Introduction of the workshop and participants Chairperson: Prof Martin Banse (director Thünen Institute of Market Analysis) .) Round of brief participant introduction .) Workshop Overview and objectives by Dr Felicitas Schneider (coordinator Collaboration Initiative Food Loss and Waste, Thünen Institute of Market Analysis) .) Group photo |
| 10:00 - 10:15 | Tea and coffee break |
| 10:15 - 11:15 | Framing Session chairperson: Mr Cecil Haverkamp (SDSN) .) Food Loss and Waste in the context of African PHL management and food safety strategies by Dr Laila Lokosang (African Union) .) Overview of Food Loss and Waste by Mrs Winnie Yegon (FAO Kenya) .) UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 by Mr David Rubia (UNEP Kenya) .) Q & A and panel discussion |
| 11:15 - 13:00 | Session 1: Discussion of regional trends and opportunities related to FLW chairperson: Prof Jane Ambuko (University of Nairobi) .) panel discussion with selected national experts from five Sub-Saharan African countries .) Q & A |
| 13:00 - 18:00 | Field trip Group 1: Foodbanking Kenya headquarter and beneficiary Group 2: Upper Kabete campus, University of Nairobi, including a) Food Processing Hub for fruit and vegetables and meat and diary products, b) research, training and demonstration hub for Cold Storage Technologies as well as c) Food waste recycling facility |
| from 18:00 | Networking dinner |
April 18th, 2024 | |
| 09:00 - 09:15 | Welcome back, reflection of day 1 discussions and site visit chairperson: Dr Ackim Mwape (GRA) .) reflection of day 1 .) outlook on day 2 agenda and objectives |
| 09:15 - 10:30 | Session 2: Joint work and discussions in small groups chairperson: Dr Ackim Mwape (GRA) .) overview on groups Group 1: Food Loss and Waste Policy implementation in African countries facilitated by Mr Guido Geissler (African Union) Group 2: FLW prevention, circular economy and data tracking - existing and missing data and information in SSA facilitated by Dr Felicitas Schneider & Mrs Sharon Mada (both Thünen Institute) .) start with group work |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Tea and coffee break |
| 11:00 - 12:00 | Session 2: Group work continued |
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Session 3: Reporting back to plenary with conclusions and way forward chairperson: Prof Cecilia Onyango (University of Nairobi) .) rapports of group work facilitators .) Q & A |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch break |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Concluding Session: Panel discussion and confirmation of workshop agreements chairperson: Prof Martin Banse (Thünen Institute) .) summary of results and outlook FLW workshop South Africa .) closing remarks by Dr Felicitas Schneider (Thünen Institute) |
| 15:00 | Group photo and farewell tea |
8th FLW Workshop, October 2024, Brazil
In cooperation with our colleagues from Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development (MDS), UN Environmental Program (UNEP), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Global Research Alliance (GRA), National Agricultural Technology Institute Argentina (INTA) and others we will organise the 8th Regional FLW workshop from October 22 to 24, 2024 in Brasilia/Brazil. Further details will be announced here.
Sustainability Special Issue "National Strategies for the Prevention and Monitoring of Food Loss and Waste"
Dr. Thomas Schmidt, Stefan Lange and Dr. Felicitas Schneider from Thünen Institute worked as guest-editors for a special issue of the Journal "Sustainability" addressing „National Food Loss and Waste Prevention Strategies and Monitoring approaches – an interdisciplinary challenge for decision makers, researchers and practice“.
Finally, we achieved the valuable contribution from 10 international author groups who went successfully through the review process. The papers include experiences from Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States of America. They are freely available for download here through open access. We would like to thank all colleagues who shared their valuable insights with us!