FAO Calls for Investments to Combat Global Food Loss and Waste

On International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlighted the urgent need to reduce food loss and waste, citing significant socioeconomic and environmental benefits. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stated that minimizing food loss can improve food security and nutrition, provide economic benefits to producers and consumers, and reduce environmental impacts, including pollution and biodiversity loss.

Dongyu emphasized that achieving these gains requires targeted investments across the agrifood value chain, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Key areas include infrastructure to prevent losses, innovative technologies, circular economy approaches, stakeholder capacity building, and consumer education.

Globally, 13.2% of food is lost post-harvest, and 19% is wasted at retail and household levels. Meanwhile, 673 million people were hungry in 2024, and 2.6 billion could not afford a healthy diet.

FAO also launched Opti-waste, a digital tool for schools, to track food waste and improve meal quality, underscoring the need for systemic collaboration and private-sector partnerships to secure a sustainable, food-secure future.

03-10-2025