Presentations:
- Addressing Post-Harvest Food Losses in Bangladesh
- Bangladesh: Food Loss and Waste Diagnostic
- Current activities of FAO in Bangladesh to reduce Food Loss and Waste
Food loss and waste is a critical issue in Bangladesh, with an estimated 34 per cent of food produced either lost or wasted. This has severe economic, environmental, and social consequences, including the use of 27 per cent of the country’s land for food that is never consumed, 13 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions, and a value equivalent to 4 per cent of the nation’s GDP.
To address this, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the Royal Danish Embassy in Dhaka, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, and the World Food Programme (WFP) jointly organised the conference titled ‘Towards Zero Food Waste and Loss: Building a Sustainable Food Value Chain in Bangladesh.’ The conference brought together key stakeholders to create actionable solutions for reducing food waste in the country.
Ms Farida Akhter, Hon’ble Adviser, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Interim Government of Bangladesh, stressed the importance of tackling food waste to ensure food security in Bangladesh. She remarked, ‘Despite impressive growth, Bangladesh still suffers from malnutrition, particularly among women, and food distribution remains unequal. Therefore, the reduction of food waste and loss is a critical step for Bangladesh to ensure food security.’
The advisor also highlighted the challenges farmers face, stating, ‘Farmers often struggle to produce food with little support for storage, pricing, or infrastructure. When they do store their produce, they lack adequate price support, leading to waste’. Ms Akhter called for greater support and better infrastructure to help reduce food loss and improve the country’s food security.
Mr Mohammed Yasin, Additional Secretary, Administration Wing, Ministry of Food,Government of Bangladesh, remarked, ‘Bangladesh is losing soil fertility, money, water, and labour, while producing less food for the poor and marginalised. The opportunity cost is immense, and limited food choices are being created for the population’.
The Charge D’Affairs at the Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh, Mr Anders Karlsen, emphasised the global scale of food loss, stating, ‘One-third of all food produced is either lost or wasted, using land larger than China to produce food no one will eat.’ He further discussed the economic impact, saying, ‘It’s not just the food that’s wasted; farmland and greenhouse gases are also lost during production and transportation.’ Mr. Karlsen also stressed the need for urgent action, urging, ‘The best time to act is today. If not yesterday, then today.’
While addressing the issue of food loss and waste, Mr Dia Sanou, Deputy FAO Representative, explained the global and local implications of food waste, stating, ‘The world produces enough food to feed more than 1.5 times the global population, yet food insecurity and malnutrition persist due to unequal distribution, poor infrastructure, and, most importantly, food waste and loss. Despite a surplus, food waste prevents sufficient food from reaching those most in need.’
Mr Jesse Wood, Deputy Country Director, Office in Charge, WFP Bangladesh, highlighted the scale of food loss in Bangladesh, with studies showing ‘8-15 per cent of rice lost after harvest and 20-40 per cent of fruits and vegetables wasted, valued at USD 2.4 billion.’ He pointed out that despite Bangladesh being a food production powerhouse, producing significant amounts of vegetables, fish, and essential goods, constraints in storage and cold chains lead the country to import the very products it produces, a missed opportunity for both farmers and the economy.
The Executive Director of CPD, Dr Fahmida Khatun, noted the environmental impact, saying, ‘If we are increasing food waste and loss, we are draining scarce environmental resources. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impact of climate change, making it imperative that we reduce food waste’.
The first panel session, titled ‘Policy and Regulation,’ focused on the role of the government in establishing regulatory frameworks for waste reduction and the connection to Bangladesh’s updated National Food Systems Pathways. The discussion also highlighted incentives for both the private and public sectors to reduce food loss and waste.
Dr Samina Yasmin, Senior Agriculture Specialist, The World Bank, stressed the importance of addressing the issue strategically, urging, ‘We first need to get the government on board, not just acknowledging the problem, but committing to action. We also need to involve the private sector to scale up interventions.’
Mr Son Thanh Vo, Senior Agriculture Specialist, The World Bank, recommended that to address the challenge of food loss and waste, strategic interventions are crucial across the entire supply chain. ‘At the Production stage, it is recommended to promote digital agriculture applications and improve early-warning systems for climate events.’
In the transport, handling, and storage (THS) phase, he said, ‘the focus should be on promoting clean handling practices, improving marketing, and enhancing trade infrastructure.’
‘For wholesale and retail operations, the key is developing improved market facilities and integrated cold chains,’ he continued.
To tackle losses at the end of the chain, the World Bank suggests, ‘running awareness campaigns on food waste and promoting a regulatory framework for food waste management and waste valorisation.’ These targeted measures are essential for mitigating emissions and enhancing national food security.
Ms Fawzia Yasmin, Director,Ispahani Agro Limited, proposed several regulatory measures for the public sector, including the implementation of an organic waste ban to prevent food waste from being sent to landfills. She added, ‘The public sector can also encourage food donations by providing legal protections to donors and standardising food labels to reduce confusion around “use by” and “sell by” dates, which often lead to unnecessary food waste.’
Dr Md. Kamrul Hassan, Professor, Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, emphasised the need for technological innovation to address food loss, pointing out the success of post-harvest engineering institutions in neighbouring India. He recommended establishing similar institutions in Bangladesh to foster research and development in this field. ‘India has a central institution for post-harvest engineering that is driving technological innovation to reduce food loss, and Bangladesh should invest in similar initiatives,’ he said.
Dr Ferdouse Islam, Former DG, BSRI and Advisor- R&D and Production Vegetable Seed Business, Supreme Seed Company Ltd, addressed the critical connection between the food system pathway and Bangladesh’s policy implementation, noting that food waste and loss are aligned with national policies and SDGs. She explained, ‘Policy alignment is crucial, and the food system strategy must link with agriculture, food, health, and commerce sectors. We need coordinated efforts across government, private sector, and civil society to make significant progress.’
Mr Mostafa Faruq Al Banna, Research Director, Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU), stated, ‘Food loss and waste is a major concern in improving food and nutrition security in Bangladesh. At present, we lack a comprehensive regulatory framework and baseline data on food loss and waste. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has initiated a baseline survey to determine the extent of food waste and loss, and we are working on incorporating food waste and loss issues in the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy for 2021-2030.’
The second panel session, titled ‘What Can We Do and How to Take Action,’ focused on promoting cold chain logistics and smart packaging solutions for post-harvest loss reduction. The discussion also explored working with traceability to minimise losses in the value chain, as well as the importance of private-public partnerships to reduce food loss and waste. Additionally, the session highlighted the need to incorporate a focus on reducing food loss and waste into current initiatives and ongoing work.
Ms Mwansa Mwansa, Programme Policy Officer (Market Development), WFP Bangladesh, emphasised that food loss and waste have humanitarian, economic, and environmental impacts, from farmers losing income to the squandering of finite resources such as water, land, and energy. She highlighted the importance of bringing together experts across the food system—covering production, supply chains, markets, and policy—to unpack the drivers of food loss and waste and identify collective solutions.
During her presentation, Ms Aida Nakyazze, Supply Chain Officer (Supply Chain Capacity Strengthening), WFP Bangladesh, recommended establishing Aggregation Centres (ACs) to support smallholder farmers by providing training, inputs, and market linkages, thereby reducing post-harvest losses.
She emphasised the importance of strengthening market linkages, particularly with government food procurement programmes, to ensure fair prices and quality produce. Additionally, she highlighted the need for climate-smart technologies and adaptive infrastructure to enhance resilience, as well as encouraging private sector involvement and mobilising blended finance to invest in cold and dry chain solutions.
Dr Anil Kumar Das, Senior National Programme Specialist, FAO, highlighted FAO’s initiatives in Bangladesh to tackle food loss and waste (FLW), focusing on estimating losses across key sectors such as paddy, wheat, fruits, and vegetables. FAO’s efforts included supporting national policies, improving post-harvest practices, and enhancing cold chain systems. To build on this work, it was recommended to invest further in cold chain infrastructure, raise public awareness, and expand training programs for farmers and vendors to reduce FLW effectively.
Mr Riccardo Suppo,Head of Programme, WFP Bangladesh, explained the core problem is the ‘market failure’ where farmers lack bargaining power, resulting in unfair price creation. ‘At the farm gate, rice is sold for less than fifteen taka per kilo, but the market price is over seventy-five taka. The real profits go to the traders, not the farmers, leaving them with little income and no incentive to invest in production.’
Mr Md. Abdus Salam, Director, Supply, Distribution and Marketing Division, Directorate General of Food, emphasised modern infrastructure and handling practices as key priorities, stating, ‘Strengthening infrastructure, such as cold storage and improving handling practices, is crucial to minimise post-harvest losses and improve food distribution efficiency.’ He also highlighted the role of digitalisation, specifically the implementation of digital tracking systems for transportation and distribution to reduce delays and mismanagement.
Mr Abu Musa Mohommad Monirul Hasan, Head of Factory Operations, Square Food and Beverage Company, emphasised sustainable practices through contract farming that reduces pesticide use and costs for farmers. ‘By working with farmers and providing them with non-toxic pesticides, we have reduced their production costs from 8,000-9,000 taka to 4,000-5,000 taka per farmer.’ He also discussed solar power in his factories, with 33 per cent of the energy coming from solar panels, helping to reduce carbon emissions from the manufacturing process.
Mr Md. Abdur Rouf Mia, Director, Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), highlighted infrastructure gaps as a primary issue, particularly the lack of cold chain systems and transportation facilities. ‘One of the most pressing challenges is the absence of robust cold chain infrastructure, which is essential for reducing post-harvest losses,’ he stated. He also identified high costs and the lack of technical expertise as significant barriers to adopting better storage systems.
In the closing session, Dr Fahmida Khatun summarised the recommendations from the conference, highlighting key actions to reduce food loss and waste in Bangladesh. These include improving infrastructure for cold storage and transportation, strengthening policies by integrating food waste reduction targets and regulations, and enhancing data collection to track losses across the supply chain.
She also emphasised the importance of promoting innovation through new technologies, raising public awareness, and providing incentives for the private sector to scale up solutions. Supporting farmers with financial aid and training, along with promoting sustainable agriculture, were identified as crucial steps. Dr. Khatun also stressed the need for collaborative efforts between government, private sector, and civil society, alongside encouraging consumer behaviour changes like the “Pay as You Throw” system to reduce waste.
The conference concluded with closing remarks from Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Bangladesh. He emphasised the importance of farmer-friendly agriculture and highlighted the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) initiative, which will cover 200,000 hectares of land within the next three years. ‘Through our partnership with agricultural extension services, we aim to improve food safety and traceability in the production process,’ he added.
He also discussed the challenges of overproduction in sectors like potatoes and onions, which have led to market imbalances. ‘We need to align production with demand to prevent wastage, and we’re working with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) to use satellite imaging and AI to predict future agricultural needs,’ he noted.
This conference brought together government officials, private sector innovators, experts and development partners to deliberate on effective strategies to reduce food waste and loss in Bangladesh.
