Harvest and post-harvest practices to reduce food loss and waste

Food losses occurring between harvest and retail sale, also known as post-harvest losses, is a key challenge undermining food security and income generation in many countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Post-harvest losses have significant nutritional, environmental, and financial impacts for both farmers and consumers. Thus, by preventing losses at the early stages in food supply chains, we can increase the availability of food without requiring additional resources or placing additional burden on the environment. Thus, harvest and post-harvest loss reduction is of high importance in an effort to combat hunger, raise income and improve food security and livelihoods for vulnerable people.

Given the strategic dimension of this topic, farmers and producers shall be aware of and apply appropriate harvest and post-harvest management practices to prevent deterioration in quality, loss and waste, and increase in prices for consumers as a result.

The FAO’s Impact Webinar will highlight some concepts and problems of harvest and post-harvest food loss and waste and present solutions and cases of effective intervention to reduce these losses.

Join the discussion on 14 April, 10:00-12:15 (CEST)

 Speakers:

• Robert van Otterdijk, Agro-industry Officer, FAO
• Josianne Cloutier, Post-harvest Consultant and Researcher, Wageningen University & Research
• Hans de Wild, Post-harvest Consultant and Researcher, Wageningen University & Research
• Anatolie Fala, Program Director, National Agency for Rural Development, Republic of Moldova
• Blazhe Josifovski, President, Ajde Makedonija, North Macedonia