Reducing food loss and food waste (FLFW) is a crucial step toward building circular food systems in India. Indian households waste nearly 78.2 million tonnes of food annually — enough to feed 377 million people (UNEP, 2024). This equals to 26.5% of the country’s annual per capita staple food needs. Food loss, which occurs from farm to market, and food waste, often at the retail and consumer levels, result in substantial economic losses, impact access to nutritious food as well as incomes for people, strain natural ecosystems, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Research by WRI India shows that efforts to reduce FLFW in India is faced with several challenges, such as fragmented initiatives, limited multi-stakeholder collaboration, lack of comparable data on scale of the issue, and poor awareness, motivation, and capacity among the food supply chain actors. For India to address this issue, there is an urgent need for coordinated action, increased awareness, and adequate data on the scale and hotspots of FLFW.  

To address these gaps, WRI India, under the Friends of Champions 12.3 India initiative, is hosting an engaging five-part webinar series that brings together experts, practitioners, and changemakers working across the food value chain. This five-part series explores scalable innovations, circular models, behavioral insights, grassroots solutions, and policy levers that can reduce food loss and waste while enhancing nutrition security, climate resilience, and farmer livelihoods. Learn more about WRI India’s work on food loss and food waste in India here.

Webinar Series Overview:

Session 1: Scaling Innovations in Post-Harvest Management 
25 June 2025, 4 PM - 5 PM IST (Session Agenda; Watch the Full Session)

Session 2: Food Waste: Circular Models Transforming Surplus Food into Social and Business Value 17 July 2025, 4 PM - 5 PM IST (Session Agenda; Registrations are Open Now)

Session 3: Food and Climate: Exploring Potential Climate Wins by Reducing Food Loss & Waste 
6 August 2025, 2 PM - 3:15 PM IST (Hybrid, organized as part of the RESET 2025: Dialogues to Reduce Food Loss and Waste in India)

Session 4: Strengthening Capacity at the Last Mile 
28 August 2025, 4 PM - 5 PM IST

Session 5: Policy Pathways to Reduce Food Loss & Waste 
29 September 2025, 4 PM - 5 PM IST

Join us as we build momentum to reduce food loss and food waste in India.