@fao RNE FAO’s representatives during the “Food loss workshop”

Cairo, March 13, 2016

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR), in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), held an inception workshop for an Italy-funded project on “Food Loss and Waste Reduction and Value Chain Development for Food Security in Egypt and Tunisia”.

The workshop was opened by Mr. Pasquale Steduto, FAO Deputy Regional Director and Representative in Egypt, Mr. Alaa Azouz, Vice President of the Agricultural Research Center, and Ms. Dalia Abdel Hamid Yassin, Senior Researcher at the Agricultural Economic Research Institute (AERI) and focal point to the project on behalf of the Egyptian government. The workshop was attended by MALR representatives, private sector, farmer and trader organizations, and representatives of national and international organizations.

The project is aimed at reducing food loss and waste through selected value chains to enhance their management and mitigate environmental impact, focusing on post-harvest, trader and processing stages of these chains, with a view toward accommodating smallholders, creating added value, and providing more opportunities for rural, off-farm and/or agro-industry employment.

In his opening remarks, Mr Azouz thanked the organisers and focused on food supply in Egypt and MALR's efforts to ensure food security and reduce food loss and waste.

FAO Representative in Egypt, Mr. Steduto, said: “This workshop provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of preserving produce and seriously considering the actual cost of agricultural products, including water, fuel, manpower, and fertilisers. Working on the reduction of food loss and waste is as important as agricultural expansion.”

FAO technical expert, Cristina Scarpocchi, presented FAO’s global expertise and approach to limiting food loss and waste by developing sustainable value chains. She said Near East and North Africa (NENA) countries import 50% of their food needs and continue to suffer from food deficit. She noted that food loss and waste are serious in the NENA region, with estimates indicating on average 250 kg of food per capita annually – higher than the international average.

Although they vary from one country to another, food loss and waste occur across all food value chains, from production to consumption, due to poor handling, processing, distribution, harvesting and drying techniques and lack of proper infrastructure. The lack of cold storage and proper transport, as well as infestation caused by microorganisms, rodents and pests, are serious problems. Finally, inefficient marketing systems and weaknesses in policy and regulatory frameworks are key factors contributing to the problem.

Dr. Dalia Abdel Hamid Yassin of GCP discussed the project objectives and expected outcomes, concluding the workshop with a general discussion.

According to recent studies, minimising food loss and waste will help make food systems more efficient, protect scarce water resources and generate more economic return for agri-business and farmers, and lower food import bills. Governments have committed to reducing food loss and waste in the MENA region by 50% over the next 10 years, by 2024 – a serious challenge but one that must be seriously addressed to achieve regional food security.

Additional information:

http://www.fao.org/neareast/perspectives/food-waste/en/

 Regional Strategic Framework Reducing Food Losses and Waste in the Near East & North Africa Region

  http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/e9589c20-5507-4eee-a965-22fc5a08f42f/