The Shocking Truth about Food Wastage in Zambia: Part 1
Part 1: The challenge
Worldwide, at least one-third of all food produced (worth around US$ 1 trillion) gets lost, or wasted, in food production and consumption systems.
Food loss occurs mostly at the production stage, or during harvesting, processing and distribution, while food waste typically takes place at the retailer and consumer end of the supply chain.
Zambia, like other countries, is facing a food crisis despite producing abundant food, because much of its food actually goes to waste. Such a situation not only leaves people hungry, but also poses a challenge to sustainable environmental management.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount of food produced in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, and in terrible contrast, one in every seven people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under five die daily from hunger.
The impact of food wastageFood waste is an enormous drain on natural resources and a contributor to negative environmental impacts. Non-sustainable patterns of food production are negatively impacting on the environment. While the planet is struggling to provide people with enough resources to sustain its seven billion people (growing to nine billion by 2050), FAO estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), when food is wasted, natural resources including water, which went into its production, are also wasted. For example, 1,000 litres of water are used to produce a litre of milk, while the process of producing one burger utilises around 16,000 litres of water. If food is wasted, it means that all the resources and inputs used in the production of that food are also lost.
Zambia’s current food situationZambia produces sufficient food to feed its population but some of it goes to waste. And plenty of food stuff such as fruits and maize, the staple food, go to waste in large quantities every year due to poor storage. For example, in 2011 more than 150,000 tonnes of maize were wasted due to lack of adequate storage facilities or simply because of poor post-harvest management.
Citizens for Better Environment executive director Peter Sinkamba said only 30 per cent of this year’s harvest is adequately secured, while the rest is secured under questionable tarpaulins. He said that this year another 100,000 tonnes of maize is likely to go waste due to inadequate storage facilities. Mr Sinkamba said the country has lost US$100 million (ZMW5 billion) from wasted maize in the last two years and stressed the urgent need for the country to come up with mechanisms that can help the country save the food from being wasted. Government has admitted that lack of capacity to process and preserve excess agro-produce and other foods has led to food shortages despite sufficient production.
What is the solution?With all the dismaying facts outlined above, the question remains: what can Zambia do to reduce food waste and implement lasting solutions to food shortages in the country? Part 2 of this post will look at answers to these imperative questions.
This post is the first of a two part series on ‘The Shocking Truth about Food Wastage in Zambia’:**part 1: The challenge**part 2: Towards a solution