January 12, 2020
Divine Njie - Deputy Strategic Programme Leader, Food Systems Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Background
It is very difficult to give an exact figure of the quantities of food loss and waste (FLW) that occur in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. Nevertheless, what is not in doubt is that FLW levels are significant, and stakeholders consider the reduction of FLW as a key lever for promoting food and nutrition security, adapting to and mitigating climate change, and easing pressures on natural resources in the region (FAO 2013, 2015) (WRI, 2019).
Wasted tomatoes in a wholesale market in Egypt. ©FAO/Heba Khamis
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 sets a very ambitious goal 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. Actions to reduce FLW are already planned or in place in many countries of the region, but so far they are not of significant scale to meet the target and they often do not deliver the economic, social and environmental transformations required to achieve the broader set of interconnected SDGs.
Need for a code of conduct on FLW reduction
In 2018, after considering a paper on the importance of sustainable food systems, the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG), requested FAO to work in collaboration with relevant actors to develop a voluntary code of conduct for the reduction of FLW (FAO 2018, 2019). Such an instrument would be of immense use to NENA countries and the region as a whole, as it would provide a benchmark and framework against which to base FLW reduction strategies, policies and programs. A code of conduct would also outline what constitutes acceptable practices in FLW reduction, which is critically important to avoid any negative consequences that FLW reduction efforts might engender, such as the emission of greenhouse gases and the exclusion of vulnerable groups. Furthermore, a code of conduct would facilitate joint action, the harmonization of approaches, and the assessment of progress, which together are essential for making a dent on achieving the ambitious SDG 12.3 target.
Urban transport of watermelons and melons, Syria. ©FAO/Roberto Faidutti
Process and time frame
In response to the COAG request, FAO is leading a process to develop a code of conduct containing voluntary, internationally agreed, guiding principles and practices that different stakeholders can adopt and apply in order to achieve FLW reduction while yielding positive outcomes that are aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. To ensure that the code of conduct represents a global consensus that takes into consideration and reflects country diversities and the views of all key stakeholders, an inclusive consultative process has been put in place. Face-to-face meetings and electronic consultations are being organized, involving the broad range of relevant stakeholders, including policy makers, public sector technical specialists, private sector companies, small scale producers, consumers, civil society organizations, academic and research institutions, and development agencies. Regional consultations have taken place in Africa south of the Sahara, and Latin America and the Caribbean. For the NENA region, a regional consultation was recently held on December 16, 2019 in Cairo, Egypt. The next steps of the process envisage global electronic consultations in early 2020. These consultations will inform the preparation of the final version of the code, which will be submitted to COAG for consideration at its October 2020 session.
Further Information
For further information on the code of conduct, or if you are interested in participating in the global electronic consultations, contact me at divine.njie@fao.org.
References
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2013. Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources, Summary Report. Rome.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2015. Regional Strategic Framework Reducing Food Losses and Waste in the Near East & North Africa Region. Cairo.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2018. Sustainable Food Systems. Committee on Agriculture. Twenty-sixth Session. Rome.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2019. Report of the 26th Session of the Committee on Agriculture (Rome, 1-5 October 2018). Section B, para 12.
WRI (World Resources Institute). 2019. Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Setting a Global Action Agenda. Washington, DC.
