WFP and IIT B hold Roundtable on Reducing Food Losses along agri-supply chain

Approximately 74 million tons of food are wasted in India every year. In the 2022-23 year, 22 percent of the country's food grain output, or 10 percent of overall food grain and horticulture production, was wasted. This waste represents about 8 percent of the total worldwide food waste, which is 931 million tons, according to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

?On April 17th, 2024, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) organised a roundtable discussion on the topic of "Prevention and Reduction of Food Losses and Waste along the Agri-Horti Supply Chains in India".

?The roundtable included diverse participants and speakers, including representatives from research institutions, civil society organisations, grassroots organisations, farmer associations, industry experts, and government agencies. The discussion was divided into two sessions: one focused on food loss and wastage along the agricultural supply chain (mainly on food grains) and the other on issues within the horticultural supply chain (concentrating on fruits and vegetables).

Elisabeth Faure, Representative and Country Director of WFP, delivered the keynote address and emphasised that addressing complex issues like 'food losses and waste' requires the collaboration of key stakeholders.

Prof Satish B. Agnihotri, former IAS and Emeritus Fellow at CTARA, IIT Bombay, highlighted the importance of leveraging academic spaces to introduce innovative solutions and technology for complex development issues like ‘food losses and waste’ in India.

Esteemed guests Dr Ashok Dalwai, IAS - CEO of the National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and Dr Abhijit Kar - Director, ICAR - National Institute of Secondary Agriculture, Ranchi, Jharkhand, led each of the two sessions. Representatives from NABCONS, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM)-Jaipur, IFPRI, senior practitioners working in cold chain management, and academic experts presented their work. They provided diverse perspectives on the challenge and possible strategies to address India's ‘food losses and waste’ issue.

Innovators/solution providers from Arya.ag, S4S Technologies, New Leaf Dynamics, and well-known civil society organisations such as PRADAN and BAIF presented their practical solutions being implemented on the ground. An IITB startup on Onion Storage that recently won the Onion Grand Challenge from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, presented its solutions.

M. Tech and PhD students from IIT Bombay showcased their research solutions and technologies on the topic through an engaging poster exhibition. WFP also presented and held a separate demonstration of its SMART Warehouse Project. It was developed in collaboration with Public Systems Lab, IIT Delhi, and implemented in various states/ UTs in India with government support.

?During the roundtable, several vital takeaways were highlighted, including the importance of every grain saved as a grain cultivated, food loss should be seen from three aspects (ecological loss, farmers’ perspective, and consumers’ perspective), a balance between equity and efficiency is essential to address the ‘Food losses and waste’ challenge, emphasis should be given to three spaces of vulnerability (crops, population, and regions), the ‘farm to fork’ and ‘fork to farm’ equations are bidirectional, knowledge, practice, and policy must collaborate to implement the solutions effectively and to address the issue effectively, stakeholders must align their understanding and definitions of food loss and waste.

The roundtable discussion provided a platform for experts, innovators, and stakeholders to voice their opinions and share their solutions to address the issue of food loss and waste in India. The event highlighted the importance of stakeholder collaboration to reduce food loss and waste and emphasised the need for innovative solutions and technology to address the challenge.

?ENDS

Paramjyoti Chattopadhyay Vijay Avinandan Ayushi Jain Shyamalima Kalita World Food Programme Elisabeth Faure Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

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