Several of the world’s largest farm-gate-facing agriculture companies and important national agriculture companies – including Olam Agri, ITC Limited, Sereni Fries, Kinazi Cassava Plant, Spice World, ETG and Premier Foods – have announced a joint commitment to help the farmers in their supply chains reduce on-farm food losses by 50% by 2030.
Together, these companies work with hundreds of thousands of farmers worldwide, forming a powerful alliance of multinational, national, and regional businesses, including in Africa.
Their pre-competitive collaboration offers an opportunity for sharing knowledge and best practices to address food loss — a critical issue in the global supply chain.
“About 40% of the global food supply is lost or wasted between farms and people’s plates. We know from recent research that food loss on farms is a much bigger problem than previously thought, and it’s happening across the globe – not just in developing countries, as many believe,” said Sunny Verghese, chief executive of Olam Agri, and co-chair of Champions 12.3, the coalition of executives that has organised the new on-farm food loss initiative.
“This enormous waste hurts farmer incomes, food security, the climate, and costs over a trillion dollars every year.”
Food waste targets at risk of not being met
According to new research from Champions 12.3, the world is at risk of missing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims 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, by 2030.
‘Food losses’ refers to food that is unharvested or spoils before reaching the market. It happens on farms for a variety of reasons, including poor harvesting practices, inadequate storage, changes in demand and a lack of alternative markets. ‘Food waste’ refers to food that is thrown out or otherwise wasted by retailers and consumers.
Right now, we are not on track to meet the UN’s target on both food loss and waste, said Verghese. “But if enough governments and companies can prioritise the issue – as those that are part of today’s announcement have – we may still be able to realise significant benefits for people and the planet.”
Food waste’s significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that halving food loss and waste alone could cut total greenhouse gas emissions by up to 5%. It is also an important strategy for ensuring sufficient food in a world where nearly 1 in 3 people faces moderate or severe food insecurity.
Ag company initiatives ‘crucial’ to combatting waste
Farmgate-facing agriculture companies are crucial to combating food losses via initiatives often referred to as ‘out-grower programmes', which provide training, capacity-building, finance and access to technology and markets.
In developing countries, these companies are especially important as farmer aggregators, engaging with farmers who are otherwise hard to reach.
This support is vital given that, worldwide, 84% of farmers are smallholders – meaning they manage less than two hectares of land – yet they produce 32% of all food globally.
Smart farming to cut waste
“Reducing farm-related agri and food wastages is a core objective of ITC's sustainability agenda,” said Sanjiv Puri, Chairman of ITC Limited.
“Multi-dimensional initiatives leverage technology and innovation to empower farmers through advanced climate smart practices, know-how and technical assistance. Extensive on-ground support is provided to scale appropriate solutions to improve productivity, resilience and reduce food losses."
At the core of ITC’s food waste initiative is a smart farming app specially designed to offer a suite of tech-enabled solutions.
“Our Agri team will continue to intensify its efforts to support farmer producer organizations in the efficient handling of farm produce, improve productivity and progressively take site-specific action in climate hotspots – thereby ensuring that agri-food loss is addressed at critical points,” said Puri.
Small-scale farmers must improve productivity and minimise food loss
Premier Foods is also committed to achieving a net zero target for operational emissions as well as a zero waste to landfill target by 2025. “As we engage with thousands of small-scale farmers in our value chain, we also promote sustainable agricultural practices,” said Martin Munyiri, general manager of Premier Foods.
“This initiative is essential to our farmers as it will enhance on-farm activities to improve productivity and minimize food loss and waste. By equipping farmers with the necessary expertise, resources, and innovative tools, we aim to implement effective solutions that positively impact their livelihoods and the broader community.”
“Climate change is undermining farmers’ incomes and food security,” added André van den Beld, head of sustainability, ETG. “The sector will need to find more supply chain efficiencies and tackle post-harvest losses and food waste where possible to secure a healthy future."
