Catalyzing actions to reduce food loss and food waste in Maharashtra

WRI India, in partnership with Samunnati, organized a multi-stakeholder workshop on August 28, 2023, in Mumbai, Maharashtra to mark the initiation of a project aimed at catalyzing systems change and promoting circular food systems in Maharashtra which is focused on reducing food loss and food waste. By leveraging evidence-based strategies, the workshop aimed to inspire and engage key supply-chain stakeholders to drive transformative change and pilot innovative solutions.

These conference proceedings present a summary of diverse inputs shared by about 44 diverse supply-chain stakeholders, including government officials, food industry representatives, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), farmers and farmer producer organizations (FPOs), research institutes, and finance specialists (see Participants). The discussions highlighted various ongoing initiatives in Maharashtra, showcasing innovative solutions such as IoT-based monitoring, farm-level processing units, and projects focused on enhancing agricultural resilience and postharvest marketing. Identifying challenges in policy implementation, the workshop underscored the need to redefine roles among supply-chain entities, address policy convergence issues, engage multiple government departments, and overcome limited data availability. Discussions also delved into diverse strategies for measuring food loss and food waste, exploring collaboration opportunities among weather-forecasting organizations, direct and indirect measurement methodologies, surveys, technological applications, and dashboard-based approaches.

Download here