FAO, IFAD and WFP are pleased to announce the release of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Food Loss Reduction, supported by the three Rome-based UN Agencies’: http://www.fao.org/food-loss-reduction

The CoP is one of the major outcomes of the first joint project being implemented by FAO, IFAD and WFP, and funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation: Mainstreaming Food Loss Reduction Initiatives for Smallholders in Food-Deficit Areas (RBA/GLO/001/SWI).

This interactive Web site includes background information, relevant news, events, online discussion fora, resources (online libraries, databases, repositories with relevant materials), and links to partners. It is a dynamic platform that will facilitate information sharing and coordination, and it will be enriched with updated information on a regular basis.

In the Forum section of the site, a first online discussion has been proposed on losses occurring along maize value chains (level of losses, causes, successful solutions that have been/can be promoted). Maize is indeed one of the major food crops selected by the three pilot countries (Burkina Faso, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) involved in the RBA project on food loss reduction.

The RBA project also represents an innovative approach to close collaboration between the three Rome-based UN agencies; it is hoped that its model can be scaled up in the future.

We look forward to your involvement! To participate in the online discussions, register and login into CoP!

The CoP will be launched on 14 October 2014, during FAO’s 41st  Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

• Photo Gallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5kLXiN