This year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is marking the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) by highlighting the importance of using data to prevent food waste.

Every year, 13.3% of total production is lost between harvest and retail, equating to 1.31 billion tonnes of global food production.

The highest losses occur in Sub-Saharan Africa at 23 per cent, while North America and Europe have the lowest losses at 10 per cent.

Globally, fruit and vegetables have the highest loss rate at 25.4%, followed by meat and animal products at 14%.

Food loss and waste are among the biggest contributors to climate change. It accounts for 8 to 10 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to an unstable climate and extreme weather events such as droughts and flooding. These changes have a negative impact on crop yields, reduce the nutritional quality of crops, disrupt supply chains, and threaten food security. Food losses also lead to the inefficient use of natural resources such as land and water when food produced using these resources does not reach consumers. 

Understanding the extent and location of food loss and waste is essential for formulating effective policies to reduce it, which is critical for the transition to sustainable agrifood systems.

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) provides an opportunity to emphasize the importance of using data to turn insights into action. With improved data, countries can identify hotspots, encourage innovation and monitor their progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, Target 3. This target aims to halve per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels, and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030.

FAO's work

"As the custodian agency for SDG indicator 12.3.1.a (food loss index), the FAO plays a critical role in measuring, reducing and tracking national progress", says Carola Fabi, Methodological Innovation Team Leader in the Statistics Division at the FAO.

The Organization collects official data from countries, which is published in FAOSTAT, to fill data gaps. FAO has also developed the Food Loss and Waste (FLW) database, which is the largest online repository of global data on food loss and waste. This digital platform compiles data from hundreds of openly accessible publications and reports, including subnational reports, academic studies and reports from national and international organizations. Data from FAOSTAT and the FLW database is used to model global, regional and sub-regional food loss estimates for SDG monitoring. 

Additionally, FAO provides technical support to countries in designing and implementing data collection activities. FAO also works with national SDG focal points, training them on how to compile and report on the Food Loss Index (FLI) using the available data to help monitor progress towards the SDG target.

FAO collaborates with national SDG focal points, providing training on how to compile and report on the Food Loss Index (FLI) using available data to monitor progress towards the SDG target. To date, over 100 countries have received training on the Food Loss Index methodology during country, regional and sub-regional workshops.

Finally, FAO has developed the SDG 12.3.1a course, which is available on the FAO eLearning Academy. This self-paced course aims to help countries reduce food losses along production and supply chains. The lessons cover the index and its components, as well as strategies and guidelines for collecting, integrating, and modelling the necessary data from a variety of sources.