Food is the basic need of all human beings and that is why when a normal baby cries after his/her birth, mother immediately gives milk. Anyway food is required for healthy life as it contains nutrients and there are many different nutrients which according to FAO’s publication, (www.fao.org).
A) Macro (big) nutrients: carbohydrates (starches, sugars and dietary fibre); b) fats - there are several kinds and c) proteins.
B) Micro (small) nutrients: a) minerals - iron, iodine and zinc; b) Vitamins - vitamin A, B-group vitamins and vitamin C.
It may be mentioned that nutrients that which are needed in big/large scale is known as macro (big) nutrients and requirement in small amount means micro (small) nutrients
Farmers across the world grow food with their hard labour but unfortunately food is lost because of different reasons.
In this article, some facts are presented about the food loss. The data have been collected from the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Report on “Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production, Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. It is observed from the Report that, “an unacceptably high proportion of food is lost along the supply chain, amounting to over 400 billion USD a year – a comparable value to some national and regional economic stimulus packages in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic”. Also it reveals a high proportion of food is lost along the supply chain before it reaches the consumer. Also the publication divulges the fact that, it is not possible to estimate the percentage of food wasted at the retail and consumption stage, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has generated modelled estimates of food losses across the main regions of the world based on a limited pool of available national data. Based on these estimates, the percentage of food lost after harvest on farm and at the transport, storage, processing and wholesale stages stands at 13.8 percent in the world, amounting to over 400 billion USD a year. Further, the percentage of food loss by region in based on 2016 data were, as whole in the world food loss in percentage term was 13.8 (as mentioned already), Western Asia and Northern Africa 10.8, Sub-Saharan Africa 14, Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) 8.9, Northern America and Europe 15.7, Latin America and Caribbean 11.6, Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia 7.8, Central Asia and Southern Asia 20.7 and Australia and New Zealand 5.8. It is evident that the highest share of food losses occurs in Central Asia and Southern Asia - 20.7 percent of global agricultural production, while the Oceania region, (which includes the Pacific Islands) and Australia and New Zealand register the lowest percentages of food losses, at 9.8 percent and 5.8 respectively. In the case of cereals and pulses, the significant loss took place in sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, while they were limited in Central and Southern Asia. Also, it is observed that the share of losses was higher for fruits and vegetables than for cereals and pulses.
Also it is pertinent to mention that, as per the Report important causes of on-farm losses inter alia include: a) inadequate harvesting time, b) climatic conditions, c) non-efficient practices applied at harvest and handling and d) challenges in marketing produce. To prevent losses, adequate cold storage, in particular, can be crucial to prevent quantitative and qualitative food losses.
The publication reveals that consumer waste was often caused by a) poor purchase and meal planning, b) excess buying (influenced by over-large portioning and package sizes) c) confusion over labels (best before and use by), and d) poor in-home storing.
I suggest all States Governments and Union Government should plan meticulously so that wastage does not take place.
For more consultation and information, the website may be consulted www.fao.org/sdg-progress-report/en/#sdg-12
Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad
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