FAO recommends Georgia to adopt national strategy on food loss reduction
Tweet 
Share
Food loss in Georgia is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommendations the country’s government to adopt a national strategy to reduce the waste.
Exchanging experience and information on food loss and waste reduction in Georgia was the main objective of the stakeholders’ consultation workshop held in Tbilisi today.
The workshop was organised by the European Union (EU) and FAO within the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). Government representatives and ENPARD stakeholders attended the event.
At the workshop, FAO expert Maryam Rezaei presented her study on Food Loss and Waste in Georgia. The study was based on interviews with growers, processors, exporters and other actors within the hazelnut, citrus and potato value chains.
Exchanging experience and information on food loss and waste reduction in Georgia was the main objective of the stakeholders’ consultation workshop held in Tbilisi today. Photo: FAO's press office.
According to the study, the interviewees in Georgia highlighted losses in various commodities as an issue that needs to be addressed urgently. Lack of awareness among farmers and processors on good agricultural practices and post-harvest management skills, as well as lack of knowledge about new technologies coupled with lack of access to technology were identified as the major causes for food losses.
In Rezaei’s word, access to education, training and new technologies as well as exchange of best practices and experience at international level is the key to reduce the food losses in the country.
"The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness among Georgian policymakers on the importance of reducing food loss and food waste and to investigate the magnitude of the issue in the country and the impact of food loss on the income and livelihood of smallholder producers”, Rezaei said.
According to FAO, globally, 1/3 of food (1.3 billion ton) produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the value chain. Food losses result directly in less food being available, and therefore contribute to food insecurity. Moreover, food loss and waste have negative environmental impacts.
To solve the issue and reduce food waste and food loss, FAO recommends to improve production planning, promote resource-efficient production and processing practices, improve preservation and packing technologies, transportation and logistics management and ensuring that all chain actors, including women and small producers, receive a fair share of the benefits.
ENPARD is helping the government of Georgia to deal with the food loss and waste problem in the country. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of €102 million (2013-2019), the main goal of the ENPARD programme is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia.
About 8,000 farmers in Georgia’s top wine-making region of Kakheti will start receiving agricultural advice as free text messages on their mobile phones next month.
Tsalka, a small town in Georgia’s south, is looking forward to welcoming more tourists to enjoy its unique natural beauty and cultural monuments.
Georgia and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) are joining forces to further develop the country's agricultural industry in 2016-2020 by signing a new four-year agreement.
Georgia is making an effort to launch climate-smart policies to transform and reorientate agricultural development under the new realities of climate change.
The European Union (EU) continues to contribute to the reduction of poverty in rural Georgia by supporting the improvement of community members’ employment and income opportunities.
Georgia is striving to foster hazelnut production, boost its export and make it more competitive on the international markets.
Georgia’s hazelnut industry has attracted the interest of Switzerland's largest retail company Migros Group.
The Farmers’ Council is a new body that has recently been created in Georgia in order to determine and eliminate problems faced by the agricultural sector in Georgian regions.
Georgia is banning the import of potatoes from Turkey for a three-month period of time because of the danger of spreading potato cancer.
Dr. David Kirvalidze has been nominated for the position of Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the period of 2019-2023 by Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze.
Andrei Yarmak, economist and expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that traditional Georgian dessert churchkhela has a great potential to become a successful export item, as it can be sold as a healthy dessert alternative.
Georgian farmers from Georgia’s eastern Lagodekhi region will have their sweet corn sold in Carrefour supermarket starting tomorrow.
The village of Sakobiano in north-eastern Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge will celebrate International Day of Rural Women on Thursday, with international organisations supporting a series of trainings and discussions in the locality.