“On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, it is important to recognise that food waste is often the visible end of a much longer journey. Food loss and waste can occur at every stage of the food value chain, making it essential to identify opportunities to prevent it—from production and processing to distribution, retail and consumption. Reducing these losses can contribute to food security, more efficient use of natural resources and more sustainable food systems.
This is where innovation can play a meaningful role. Across India, entrepreneurs are developing solutions in food preservation, post-harvest management, processing, and food upcycling. The opportunity now is to take these solutions closer to the communities and value chains they are designed to serve, understand their application in real-world settings and create large scale adoption.
This also calls for stronger collaboration across the ecosystem. Farmers, businesses, innovators and other stakeholders can play complementary roles in building more efficient food systems and creating greater value from the food that is produced. MIF’s experience through its Agri-Tech Pilot in Uttar Pradesh, has reinforced the value of combining technology with field-level understanding, farmer feedback and practical demonstrations.
Reducing food loss is ultimately about making better use of the resources that go into producing food while strengthening the resilience of our food systems. By bringing prevention, preservation and innovation together, we can create more sustainable and resilient food systems while helping promising solutions move from ideas and pilots to wider impact.” Suranjana Ghosh, Head – Marico Innovation Foundation