A typical Filipino household throws away 43 grams of rice daily, according to a 2015 survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology. Know more:
Households throw away some six grams of fish and fish products, one gram of meat and meat products, and one gram of poultry. Consumers also wasted some five grams per plate of vegetables, including the green, leafy and yellow vegetables.
Food waste does not only occur in Philippine households. Our farmers also incur postharvest losses, which the Food and Agriculture Organization has defined as measurable losses in edible food mass or nutritional value of food intended for human consumption. The International Food Policy Research Institute noted that large quantities of food are wasted or lost at each of the stages of the post-harvest system every year.
Reducing the amount of food thrown away by households and the produce lost after harvest will not happen overnight, but it is an effort worth pursuing. It would do well for the Marcos administration to look into this problem. A solution to our food wastage can help boost the country’s food security. Beefing up the country’s food supply is not only about increasing production; it also entails collective efforts to minimize postharvest losses.
The International Rice Research Institute has warned policymakers more than a decade ago that the volume of rice being wasted by the country is worth more than $200 million. Data from other government agencies have also shown that the Philippines could significantly reduce food imports by addressing the food waste problem. Despite the warnings made by various institutions, no campaign was launched to address the problem.
The spike in the prices of various commodities, including fertilizer, should prompt policymakers to seriously consider putting money in schemes that would help the country beef up its food supply. Investing in postharvest facilities and enabling farmers to have access to these facilities are some of the practical solutions. Unfortunately, farmers in many rural areas still lack these vital cogs in the postharvest system.
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