1 June 2011

According to a new report published by the UN's Food and Agriculture organisation (FAO) investing in post-harvest technologies to reduce food losses could significantly increase the food supply in sub-Saharan Africa. The report, Missing Food: The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa, which was released yesterday (31 May).

The report, which was produced in collaboration with the UK's Natural Resources Institute, estimates the value of post-harvest grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa to be around $4 billion a year. With an estimated annual grain production of around $27 billion(2005-2007 annual average), the losses equate to roughly a 15-percent loss of output.

Based on the 2005-2007 averages, these losses are equivalent to the value of annual cereal imports in the region during the same period. The report notes that, “Given the near doubling of global grain prices since 2005-2007, the value of current losses is likely much higher.”

FAO Assistant Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said of the report’s findings, "This lost food could meet the minimum annual food requirements of at least 48 million people. If we agree that sustainable agricultural systems need to be developed to feed 9 billion people by 2050, addressing waste across the entire food chain must be a critical pillar of future national food strategies."

The Missing Food report explains that, "Losses occur when grain decays or is infested by pests, fungi or microbes, and physical losses are only part of the equation. Losses can also be economic, resulting from low prices and lack of access to markets for poor quality grain, or nutritional, arising from poor quality or contaminated food."

The UN agency said such losses "contribute to high food prices by removing part of the food supply from the market." It also revealed that such supply chain losses have negative environmental impacts because "land, water and non-renewable resources such as fertilizer and energy are used to produce, process, handle and transport food that no one consumes."

Agency calls for measures to combat losses

The FAO report promotes a variety of practices and technologies aimed at reducing post-harvest losses. These include crop protectants and storage containers such as hermetically sealed bags and metallic silos. However, although these technologies have proven successful in Asia, the organisation says that first pilot schemes and development need to be undertaken to adapt the technologies for the region.

The report says, “To succeed, interventions must be sensitive to local conditions and practices, be viewed within a value chain lens, and ensure that appropriate economic incentives are in place.”

It also recognises that Governments have a part to play in “creating an enabling environment.” This includes such measures as reducing market transaction costs by investing in infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water and strengthening agricultural research and extension, particularly in identifying where losses occur along the food chain and how to tackle them.

Jamal Saghir, Director of the Sustainable Development Department at the World Bank Africa Region declared, "Africa cannot afford to lose 20 percent of its grain production; reducing food losses is increasingly recognized as part of an integrated approach to realizing agriculture's full potential, along with making effective use of today's crops, improving productivity on existing farmland, and sustainably bringing additional acreage into production."

For a video of a short interview with FAO expert Divine Njie, in which he outlines the report's findings, follow the link here.