Background
Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 12.3 states “By 2030, to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.”
To help monitor the state of food loss, FAO is continuously conducting an extensive review of literature in the public domain to create a single repository for all available data on food loss and waste. Currently data has been gathered from over 700 publications, peer-reviewed articles, reports, and studies from various sources (including from organizations like the World Bank, GIZ, FAO, IFPRI, and more).
The data from this review is held within the interactive Food Loss and Waste Database which allows for micro and macro analysis of different sets of data.
The database allows users to filter data by:
- Year
- Geographical region
- Country
- Food group (basket of items)
- Commodity
- Stage of the value chain and activity
- Method of data collection
Having an overview of global food loss and waste estimates at the commodity, country, and stage level will vastly improve our knowledge of the food losses problem and present opportunities for intervention. In terms of working towards SDG Indicator 12.3.1, the improved food loss and waste estimates will allow us to improve technical assistance at country level stemming from a point of knowledge on the level of losses and working towards filling the existing data gaps.
Initial results and lessons from the Food Loss and Waste Database
The results displayed on the Food Loss and Waste Database will change over time as more information is incorporated into the dataset. The preliminary data led to the identification of several knowledge gaps and areas where capacity development is needed:
Often studies will sum the loss percentages across the supply chain. This tends to inflate the overall percentage losses and negate the fact that the quantities of the commodities decrease through the supply chain with respect to losses and other utilizations.
There may be underlying biases when it comes to the data that has been collected, both at the national level and within the individual studies and the focus will be put on problematic areas.
The issue of food loss may not be fully captured within national estimates as they often present the lower bound of the problem. On the other hand, studies done with small sample sizes may not be fully representative, even though they represent the upper bound of the problem. Also to note that, in the case studies, the sample sizes may not be large enough to extrapolate causes and solutions to a general policy prescription.
Effective comparison of data is presently hindered by a lack of comparability on many levels: different measurement methodologies across space, commodities, and estimates that may not be repeated over time.
The variability in the available data show the need to measure losses carefully and with reliable methods. More importantly, the gaps in the data by country, commodity, and for entire tracts of the supply chain call all stakeholders to act to increase the quality and quantity of available data. A sound evidence base is critically needed to support good investment and policy decisions.
The 2019 State of Food and Agriculture on Food Loss and Waste incorporated modelled loss estimates that stemmed from the first dataset batch from the database based on a food loss estimation model developed by the FAO Statistics Division in 2016-2018. The FLW database keeps serving as a basis for SDG reporting and monitoring in the absence of country data. The model was revised in 2022 and latest estimates are published on the FAO SDG 12.3.1 webpage.