FAO and Agriculture Ministry combine efforts to tackle Food Loss and Waste in Jamaica
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Mining conducted a technical workshop to coordinate national efforts and resources to manage food loss and waste (FLW) on June 7, 2023.
The workshop engaged stakeholders within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Mining and the Rural Agriculture Development Authority, Bureau of Standards Jamaica, and other institutions to improve the FLW management in some stages of the food system, especially in those related with production (harvest and postharvest), distribution and commercialization, with attention to urban markets and school feeding programmes.
In Jamaica, food loss and waste estimates according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining amount to approximately 30% of agriculture produce or $7 billion. On a global level, the FAO states that over $400 billion is lost yearly between harvest and retail stages.
The workshop led by FAO Regional Consultant on Food Systems, Governance, Sara Granados Ortiz, featured participation from regional and international experts on food loss and waste. This included presentations on various country strategies on FLW prevention and reduction, regional approaches for FLW management and innovations as well as methodology of analysis and monitoring of the Food Loss Index.
FAO Representative for Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize, Dr Crispim Moreira, noted the impacts of food loss and waste. “We must recognize that in a world where hunger and malnutrition persist, it is simply unacceptable that approximately one-third of the food produced globally goes to waste. Food loss and waste not only squander valuable resources such as water, energy, and land, but they also exacerbate the challenges of food insecurity, poverty, and environmental degradation”.
He further encouraged the collaboration towards the reduction of FLW “by sharing best practices, innovative solutions, and evidence-based strategies, we can pave the way towards a more sustainable and efficient food system”.
Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Mining – Mr. Courtney Cole welcomed the joint efforts as “a very important event for us as a country”. According to Mr. Cole, the workshop and larger project put into focus the need to install storage infrastructure across the country to handle the surplus by farmers.
Cole also noted that the project would be an important contributor to strengthening the value chain and encouraging good practices.
“We want to see not just the infrastructure being put in place but the capacity being built, where people are trained and they understand why this is important. Food loss and waste happens at many different levels…not just what the farmer does. It is a really complex chain of things we have to think through. We are ensuring that we mobilize and deploy all of the resources to ensure we have the success we need for this project as we expand the agriculture sector”, said the Chief Technical Director.
The workshop forms part of the FAO Regional Initiative on Sustainable Diets and Food Systems which supports the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen their capacities in the prevention and reduction of food loss and waste.
This initiative aims to transform the national food system and will involve collaboration with national institutions to provide tools for the monitoring of the Food Loss Index and the development of a national strategy, on preventing and reducing food losses and waste. Stakeholders will also identify opportunities of investment and policy formulation for the efficiency and sustainability of food systems in Jamaica, with an entry point on the prevention and reduction of FLW.
The FAO under the FLW initiative will work with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority to provide two cold storage units to assist farmers with post-harvest storage to reduce food loss.