Workshop on Food Loss and Food Waste in Kenya: From sourcing to supplying

Despite the prevalence of hunger and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that roughly one third of all food produced is lost or wasted. The production of this wasted food uses up natural resources and contributes to climate change by emitting methane into the atmosphere.

Studies suggest that the proportion of food wasted in Kenya could be even higher. The Government of Kenya has introduced various initiatives to combat the issue, such as hosting the first All Africa Post-Harvest Congress in 2017 and launching a Warehouse Receipt System to address post-harvest losses in the cereal sector in 2019. International projects and local initiatives to address food waste, like Farm to Feed and Slow Food Kenya, have also gained momentum in recent years.

However, Kenya has yet to adopt a national law to prevent food waste and amend outdated policies that hinder progress. An updated policy environment is crucial to providing supply chain stakeholders with the necessary tools to reduce food waste without compromising profits.

To address this need, we partnered with the Retail Trade Association of Kenya (Retrak) to convene a round table with producers, policy-makers, consumers, standard-setting bodies, and retailers in Nairobi. The workshop provided supply chain stakeholders with an opportunity to share their experiences with interventions to reduce food loss and food waste. It also helped policy-makers explore and define practical next steps for developing an updated policy on food loss and food waste reduction.

Panelists

  • Jane Ambuko, Associate Professor, University of Nairobi
  • Andrew Edewa, Director, Standards and SPS Measures, TradeMark Africa
  • Joy Muya, Legal Advisor, Food Banking Kenya
  • Kimjackson Njeru, Head of Fresh, Naivas Supermarkets
  • Brendah Obura, Head, Ministry of Health, Kenya

Moderators

  • Steffany Bermúdez, Policy Advisor, IISD
  • Jane Ngige, Consultant, IISD