IFPRI's Director of Markets, Trade and Institutions Division (MTID), Rob Vos discussed findings from IFPRI's study and explains the complexity of measuring food loss, and identifying its causes and consequences.

1. Impacts of Reducing Food Losses across the
Value Chain
Rob Vos
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

2. Value Chain Analysis
Production
Post-
harvest &
Processing
Distribution
& Logistics
Processing Consumption
Food Losses:
Losses in production (including PHL), distribution, and
processing.
- More prevalent in developing countries
- Representative samples of farmers, middlemen and
processors
Food
Waste
- More prevalent in
developed
countries
- Not covered

3. Evidence from China, Ecuador, Ethiopia,
Guatemala, Honduras and Peru
• Food losses are substantial
(6% - 26% of production)
• Especially when we account for
quality losses
• Most of the losses occur at the farm
level (56% - 86% of losses)
10%
18%
14%
16%
10%
22%
22%
26%
12%
17%
22%
21%
12%
19%
17%
19%
8%
18%
21% 21%
13%
21%
19%
22%
6%
9% 9% 9%
11%
16%
17%
16%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
S C A P S C A P S C A P S C A P S C A P S C A P S C A P S C A P
ECU,
Potato
PER,
Potato
GUA,
Beans
GUA,
Maize
HON,
Beans
HON,
Maize
ETH,
Teff*
CHN,
Wheat
Food Losses (% of value of total production)
Farmer Middleman Processor
Source: Delgado, L., M. Torero and M. Schuster (2017). The reality of food losses: A new
measurement methodology. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01686. Washington, DC: International Food
Policy Research Institute.
Self
reported
Quality
disaggregation

4. Where do loses occur?
Photo credit: El Diario, Bolivia
Photo credit: The Hindu, India
Photo credit: Victor Agreda
Photo credit: Eduardo Nakasone
Photo credit: Eduardo Nakasone
Photo credit: Eduardo Nakasone
Photo credit: Eduardo Nakasone Photo credit: Eduardo Nakasone
Photo credit: Eduardo Nakasone
In the field?
Post Harvest at farm?
Transportation and
storage?
Processing?
Most of the losses occur
at the farm level (56-86%)

5. Determinants vary by crop, context, and
production stage
Main determinants:
- weather
- poor knowledge of how to avoid pests & plagues
- poor technology (no mechanization, low quality seeds)
- poor infrastructure (storage, transportation, processing)
- low and volatile prices
Source: Delgado, L., M. Torero and M. Schuster (2017). The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01686. Washington, DC:
International Food Policy Research Institute.

6. Less food loss = higher farm income?
• Yes:
- by definition if preventing food loss as quality loss (lower value)
- much, if not most of losses happen at the farm level
• Depends:
- If “saved” food can be sold in market (without price loss)
- More likely if food loss prevention through
- improved handling, packaging on farm (sealed bags, crates, etc.)
- adequate storage (dry and cold chains)
- adequate transportation
- greater processing capacity
- certification of food quality/safety and contractual arrangements
- Even more so, above also helps reduce market price volatility
• But:
- Cost of technologies/interventions should not be prohibitive
- Thinks need to work along the entire supply chain

7. Less food loss = crop substitution?
• We do not know
- Little evidence about patterns of crop
substitution in response to reductions in food
loss
• Depends on
- the extent of adoption of new technology and
demand elasticity of crop
- shift to higher value added crops (e.g. fruits
and vegetables) more likely if also cold chains
are also developed

8. Less food waste =
lower prices and farm
incomes?
• We do not know
- Little evidence
• YES
- If significant food waste reduction, prices would drop and farm incomes may
drop for that food product (ceteris paribus)
• BUT
- Consumer purchasing power would rise and demand could shift to higher value
added foods
- Impacts on nutrition outcomes could be ambiguous
- Impacts on environmental pressures could be ambiguous

9. Reducing food
loss cannot be
sole focus
• There are simple solutions reducing food
loss, but benefits not always around the
corner
• Farm level benefits require full value
chain development and market access
• Income and nutritional gains will
depend on broader food system
improvements
• Environmental gains not achieved by
just reducing food loss; agriculture and
food systems at large need to be made
sustainable