Heike Ostermann__ GIZ on food losses

Heike Ostermann, GIZ Advisor for sustainable resource management and agriculture and member of the Platform work stream on post-harvest losses presents the draft terms of reference for a study on food losses in Nigeria. Watch the webcast of her presentation and the following online discussion with Platform members and partners from FAO, World Bank, SDC, NRI and others as they contribute their thoughts and knowledge on the subject of food losses.

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GIZ virtual briefing presentation_food losses

Summary

Heike Ostermann, GIZ advisor for sustainable resource management and agriculture presented an overview of GIZ project experiences on food losses followed by an introduction to an upcoming study on the topic in Nigeria.

//  GIZ work on Post-harvest losses

The presentation on the GIZ experiences in the field of Post-harvest losses and food waste started with a sophisticated graph highlighting the institutions working on the topic and their interrelations. As pointed out by Heike, such an overview helped to identify who was dealing with whom in a specific field, and therefore enabled collaborations. She moved on to briefly outline previous GIZ work on that topic and to stress that there were still many studies available, which would be also analysed with regard to the upcoming study in Nigeria.

//  Topic of Food losses well represented

A survey among GIZ projects shows that the topic of food losses is well represented in many ongoing projects in formal or informal ways in countries as diverse as Afghanistan or Vietnam. An upcoming study in Nigeria, conducted in collaboration with World Cocoa Foundation, would be embedded in a West Africa regional project called "Sustainable Cocoa Business".

//  Lessons learned from GIZ analysis

• Causes for food losses are systemic, and therefore a systemic approach is needed
• The whole value chain needs to be considered for identifying hot spots of losses
• Cooperation with the private sector can facilitate upscaling of project activities

//  New study: Reducing food losses to improve food security

Heike moved on to present the draft terms of reference (ToR) of a planned study titled "Reducing food losses to improve food security: analysis of essential agricultural value chains in Nigeria and recommendations for German development cooperation".

Beginning in August, the study aims to improve data availability and highlight options for further engagement in reducing food losses, Heike explained. She stressed that Nigeria would be a particularly interesting country for this study and that focus would be on cassava and maize as two of the most important staple crops in Africa.

The study consists of two parts:

1. Description and analysis of value chains and quantification of food losses
2. Estimation of the impact of food losses on natural resources

As the preparations for the second part are still in progress, Heike concentrated on the first part, which will be conducted in collaboration with an external consultant. Among others, the following issues will entail:

• Detailed descriptions of the respective value chains
• Quantitative and qualitative assessment of food losses within the value chains
• Comparative analysis of small scale farming and processing vis-à-vis large scale operations
• Comparative analysis of different storing and processing techniques concerning their efficiency
• Identification of criteria under which the results can be applied for other regions as well

After the presentation attendants from a wide range of institutions provided their feedback to Heike and shared their experiences on the topic of food losses.

//  Great interest in GIZ project in Nigeria

Participants showed great interest in following up on this GIZ project. Many options for further bilateral exchange turned up as well as possibilities for potential collaborations in the field of food losses.

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