For a food-secure future, we should make the most of what we already have

Even the most sustainable food production comes at a cost. Agriculture requires labour, funding and natural resources, with the inevitable generation of at least some waste and emissions.

Yet a staggering share of this cost goes towards food that is never eaten at all.

In fact, lost and wasted food accounts for about half of global annual greenhouse gas emissions from food systems. An astonishing 13.2 per cent of the food we grow never even reaches consumers – still more is thrown away uneaten once it does.

That’s why reducing food loss is the secret to boosting food security without added human or environmental costs. With IFAD’s support, small-scale farmers around the world are applying simple, cost-effective techniques to make sure food gets from field to plate.

For over 20 years, Savelio has set off every morning by canoe to gather sea grapes, a delicacy in Samoa. Once home, he wraps his harvest in breadfruit leaves and sells it from a roadside stall outside his home.

But until recently, the sea grapes often spoiled in the hot weather before they could be sold. This limited his earning potential while wasting valuable time and effort.

Thanks to the support of PIRAS, Savelio now has coolers to store his harvest and maintain its quality until the time is right to sell. This investment has boosted his daily income by 10 tala (US$3.60), in reasing the return he gets on his hard work.

In sub-Saharan Africa, a fifth of all food produced is lost before reaching retailers or consumers. This is the highest rate of food loss in the world.

But small-scale farmers in Kenya are working to change this. Using e-vouchers received through the KCEP-CRAL project, farmers are able to buy sealed bags that protect grain from pest infestations and spoilage.

This simple, low-cost measure can drastically reduce food loss from a yearly average of 14 per cent to less than 1 per cent. Paul, an agro-dealer who sells the bags, started using them for his own grain after seeing their success among his customers.

“We used to add preservatives to the maize and store it for six months. Then, we would have to open it, add more preservatives and store again,” says Paul. “Now, once I have dried my maize, I put it in a sealed bag and only open it when I am ready to sell.”

The farmers of Mulunguzinho, in Brazil’s north-east, have long cultivated the cashew nuts that thrive there. But the tasty pulp of the cashew fruit once went largely unused. While some was eaten or fed to livestock, most simply fell to the ground to rot.

Today, farmers harvest every part of the cashew fruit – and it’s all thanks to the innovative thinking of local women. When they had the idea to preserve the pulp by freezing it, it quickly caught on.

Supported by the IFAD-funded FO4LA, the women set up a processing factory where they extract, test and freeze the pulp. They then sell it to restaurants, hospitals and schools, where chefs turn it into delicious juices and treats.

“Today, every fruit I see reminds me that a family is being fed or drinking juice from our pulp,” says Ivoneide, who leads the factory.

In Sierra Leone’s tropical climate, freshly harvested onions can quickly develop mould – and farmers’ incomes can suffer.

“Before, we were forced to sell all our onions quickly and at a low price because they were perishable, and we didn’t have a safe way to store them,” explains small-scale farmer Mary Nabie.

Thanks to a drying machine provided by AVDP, Mary Nabie has cut food loss and boosted her income. She and her women’s group now cure onions after harvesting so that they develop dry, papery necks and hardy peel that protect against mould.

What’s more, the women now have a place to keep the onions until they are ready to sell. Mary Nabie’s is one of 30 women’s groups that pooled their own funds to build a storage facility where they store onions at the right temperature and protect them from pests.

The orchards of the Rasht valley in central Tajikistan are famous for their delicious apples and pears, but this bounty is often lost. With few storage and processing facilities, much of the fruit simply rots or is devoured by pests.

But with training and equipment provided through CASP, local women in this remote region are making sure none of their harvest goes to waste.

In Jafr village, Zulhijamo leads a group of 15 women who preserve fruit by canning it. This has given them not only a new income source, but also a store of nutritious food they can rely on in emergencies, like when snow or landslides cut off transport links.

For Zulhijamo and her partners, cutting food loss through her canning business has had a transformative impact. “Our lives have changed,” she says. “We have managed to overcome the difficulties of life.”  

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Storage and processing are unsung heroes of food insecurity and poverty. By making the most of existing efforts and inputs, rather than requiring new ones, small-scale farmers can feed communities better at no added cost.

That’s why food loss reduction is a key part of sustainable development. With no additional strain on natural resources, it’s not just an easy win for farmers – it’s also a win for the planet.