THE PROBLEM OF FOOD LOSS AND WASTE

Globally 1.2 billion tons of food is wasted on farms each year.  This is significantly more than is wasted from retail, food service, and households combined...
 
...and is enough to feed the world’s 870 million undernourished four times over.
 
-WWF 2021

In sub-Saharan Africa, 50% of all fruit and veg never reach the consumer

Farmers struggle to sell all their produce due to i.e. unpredictable weather conditions, overplanting, lack of storage, IT, market information, poor infrastructure and cosmetic rejection by export market. This also means lost income for farmers who throw away part of their harvest.

Food losses hit ~4 billion USD annually in sub-Saharan Africa. ​​

Food waste and loss accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions

If wasted food was a country, it would be the third largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, after the United States and China.

Nearly 10% of global greenhouse gases come from food loss and waste, 6 times more emissions than the global aviation industry.

Food left to rot turns into methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than CO2. Op top of that, all the valuables resources used to produce the food - such as land, water, inputs and capital - are also wasted.

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Reducing our food loss and waste is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to combat climate change. 

1/4 of wasted food could feed all 795 million of undernourished people in the world

In Kenya, 32% of the population faces food insecurity and poor nutrition. 26% of the children in the country are stunted due to chronic malnutrition. Stunting has an irreversible impact on brain and physical development, increases vulnerability to illnesses, impairs learning ability and decreases labor productivity.

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Up to 75% of salaries is spent on food in low-income households in Kenya (compare this to an average person in the UK who will spend 10-15% of salaries on food). 

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