Collaboration Initiative on Food Losses & Food Wastes launched at MACS-G20

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.

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.

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.

The "Regional Food Loss & Waste Workshop" as fourth event of the series took place as hybrid event hosted in Riyadh on October 15^th, 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.

The annual series of regional FLW workshops was continued on November 4^th, 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!

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.

Please see the agenda and pictures below.