The terms of reference for a new multi-stakeholder network, which aims to reduce food loss and waste in Thailand, has received the endorsement of public sector, private sector, CSOs, research institutes and other stakeholders, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today.

“This is the first formal meeting of the Save Food Network Thailand (SFNET) with FAO and Thailand’s Office of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives as co-chairs,” said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Assistant-Director General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, and one of the co-chairs of today’s meeting.

“Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food – equivalent to 30 percent of annual food production – are lost or wasted globally and up to 50 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables are lost or wasted from farm to plate,” Konuma said. “Nearly 15-20 percent of food is wasted after being served on the dining tables of industrialized Asia,” he added.

The formation of SFNET was inspired by the regional Save Food Asia-Pacific Campaign which is supported by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Thailand is the second country in the region to launch a national campaign and the first to constitute a national organization of partners. SFNET has vowed to collaborate in the fight against post-harvest food losses and food waste in Thailand.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has set up the working group on food losses and food waste of Thailand,” said co-chair Rangsit Poosiripinyo, Director of the Bureau of International Agricultural Economics, Office of Agricultural Economics of Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC). Recognizing the multi-stakeholder make-up of the working group, it was “mandated to analyse food losses and food waste from production on-farm to consumption by end-users,” she said. 

The problem of food loss and food waste cannot be overstated. While there are no exact figures for Thailand, as one of Asia’s biggest producers of food, all stakeholders of SFNET agree food loss and waste are evident in Thailand and solutions are needed. SFNET will collaborate on activities in accordance with the Save Food Asia-Pacific Campaign and recommend guidelines to reduce food losses and food waste in Thailand.

While the potential membership will continue to expand, its principal members will include representatives from public sector institutes, private sector associations, UN partners, civil society organizations, research and academic institutions, marketing organizations and other relevant organizations associated with the food sector.

SFNET will serve as a common platform for discussion, knowledge-sharing, promotion and implementation of concerted efforts to reduce food loss and waste. Planned activities such as research, seminars and promotional events, include advocacy and awareness-raising, information sharing and organized joint activities.