FAO: food waste generates global losses of US$ 400,000 million

He food waste At a global level, it generates losses of some US$ 400,000 million dollars (368,000 million euros) each year and implies the waste of 14% of the food produced worldwide, warned today the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The report “Agricultural Outlook 2023-2032″prepared together with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), foresees an increase in the next decade of food waste, which currently stands at around 931 million tons.

The increase in the volume of food thrown away is hidden behind the increase in, for example, lFood losses throughout the distribution chain, which will go from the current 180 million tons to 234 in 2032.

While another 157 million tons will be wasted on crops, 20 million more than today.

“Reducing food loss and waste is a critical part of improving food system outcomes and improving food security and sustainability”the document alleges.

Uncertainty in raw materials

The FAO focuses on the “constant economic risks”as the rise in prices of energy or the impact of the war in Ukraine on world food production, which adds uncertainty to the productive stability of the coming years.

In this sense, every 1% increase in the price of fertilizers, essential for most crops and for the production of livestock feed, especially those intended for poultry and pigs, would imply a final increase of 0.2% in the cost of all agricultural raw materials.

However, the report acknowledges the improvement in the availability of grain and fertilizers produced on Ukrainian territory after the interruption of the trade in these raw materials at the beginning of the war, revived after the Black Sea Grain Initiative, in which representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN oversee the shipping of merchant ships laden with grain.

Moderation in emissions

Despite a forecast increase of 12.8% in agricultural production until 2032, greenhouse gas emissions generated by agriculture will only increase by 7.6%, a smaller increase than in the last 10 years and which shows a “Rapid decline in carbon intensity in the primary sector”.

However, the report recalls that Innovative efforts must be widely adopted to ensure that agriculture contributes effectively to climate mitigation. climate change” especially in the case of livestock, which will account for 80% of the increase in projected agricultural emissions.

At the same time, the different food production systems will face the challenge of adapting as soon as possible to the effects of climate change, such as the increasingly frequent droughts and floods.

rich and poor

The evolution of the agricultural and livestock market and raw materials will vary depending on the levels of economic development of the countries.

While the demand for animal feed will moderate in the rich thanks to improvements in productive efficiency, in low- and middle-income states the rapid increase in production will force the production of more livestock feed.

Biofuels will also gain presence in the next decade in low-income countries, especially in India and Indonesia, while in the European Union the growing restrictions on polluting transport will reduce the demand for these raw materials.

Instead, forecasts point to a generalized increase in agricultural production, dDue to 79% of the increase in crop productivity, while 15% would be due to the increase in the size of the plantations and 6% to the greater intensity of land exploitation.

Source: EFE