Workshop on Measuring Food Losses in Latin America and the CaribbeanOnline Event

Did you know that 13% of food was lost in 2021 between harvest or collection and its arrival on the shelves? This equates to 931 million tons or 120 kilograms per capita.

Virtual Event, 29/09/2025 - 01/10/2025

©FAO

In the context of the Commemoration of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is inviting to the Workshop to the Workshop on Measuring Food Losses in Latin America and the Caribbean to learn the methodology for constructing the Food Loss Index (FLI), based on which countries could begin to report on their progress in their commitment to reduce post-harvest losses along their food chains by 2030.

During the meeting, statistical frameworks for data collection and information gathering along the value chain to measure loss percentages will be discussed. Will also provide a forum for countries that have worked on measuring food loss to share their experiences and key methodological strategies, facilitating the strengthening of national capacities aimed at reducing food losses.

Review the AGENDA

Day 1 - Monday 29 of September

Inaugural Session
09.00 – 10.30	Opening ceremony
10.30 – 11.00	Break
Session 1: ¿Why is it important to monitor food loss and how is it measured?
11.00 – 11.15	Causes of food loss and their effect on food security, climate change, etc.
11.15 – 11.30	Public policies and laws oriented towards reducing food losses and the need for data
11.30 – 12.00	The SDG 12.3.1 methodology and global tendencies
12.00 – 12.30	The technical support approach to measure SDG ODS 12.3.1 In Latin America and the Caribbean
12.30 – 14.00	Break
Session 2: From concept to a national strategy of measurement
14.00 – 15.00	Country experience with focus on considerations, challenges and results of the following: Identifying priority products Mapping of value chains Measuring strategies and data sources
15.00 – 15.30	Comments and Q/A
15.30– 15.45	Break
15.45 – 16.45	Country experience with focus on considerations, challenges and results of the following: Identifying priority products Mapping of value chains Measuring strategies and data sources
16.45 – 17.15	Comments and Q/A
17.15 – 17.30	Closure

Day 2 - Tuesday 30 of September

Session 3: Data gathering
09.00 – 10.30	Review of practices and results to capture data on food losses on the field using National Agricltural Surveys
10.30 – 10.45	Comments and Q/A
10.45 – 11.00	Break
11.00 – 12.30	Experience and results of 4 pilots to gather food loss data outside the field Methodological aspects of these pilots. Products, size of the sample, sampling strategy, processes to include questions on surveys and revision of them Results Lessons and implications to scale up to a national level
12.30 – 14.00	Break
Session 4. Other tools and efforts to reduce food losses
14.00 – 15.00	The FLAPP, technical aspects, methodology and results
15.00 – 15.30	Experience using the FLAPP to quantify and reduce losses on the field
15.30 – 15.45	Break
15.45 – 16.45	Regional initiatives to reduce losses
16.45 – 17.00	Closure

Day 3 - Wednesday 01 of October

Session 5. Strategies to incorporate measurements of food losses in national statistics systems
09.00 – 11.00	Country experiences: General Vision on how to incorporate measurments to the National Statistics System. Motivation, political context Data sources, statistical operations and responsible institutions Data integration Budget and resource mobilization Use of results
11.00 – 11.30	Open discussion about strategies and regional actions to strengthen the measurement od SDG 12.3.1
11.30 – 12.00	Closure

Documents

Field testing food loss data collection and compiling the Food Loss Index in Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay

Contact

Paulina Bravo P.

Communicator for the Regional Better Nutrition Priority

FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean