TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture reportedly planned to conduct a study on food loss in Indonesia from September 2022 until January 2023, as stated in a press release received by Tempo on Saturday, Sept. 3. The study aims at generating a better understanding of the critical food loss points and solutions to address them from production up to the wholesale market, said FAO in the release. The foods include cabbage, shallot, and chili.

According to the report from Bappenas in 2021, food loss and waste in Indonesia reached 115-184 kg per capita per year with the biggest waste occurring at the consumption stage during the last two decades. This covers food loss from production to wholesale and food waste from retail to households. The biggest generation loss has been found in crops, particularly cereals. Meanwhile, the most inefficient food sector and category is fruit and vegetables.

Shallot transport in Brebes from harvest, which is at risk of being wasted (FAO/Harriansyah)

The economic loss due to food loss and waste in Indonesia is approximately Rp213-551 trillion per year or equal to -5% of Indonesia's GDP. In the Asia Pacific region, almost half of fruits and vegetables are wasted or lost even before they reach consumers.

“It is very important to understand the bottlenecks and pay-offs in the value chain in reducing food loss, especially for the selected perishable commodities, such as fruits and vegetables,“ said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste, at the inception workshop of a food loss study in Jakarta.

The wasted shallots during transportation to the collectors (FAO/Harriansyah)

Food loss results from wide-ranging managerial and technical limitations in harvesting techniques, storage, transportation, processing, cooling facilities, infrastructure, packaging, and marketing systems. One of the main sectors of concern in agricultural sectors is small- and medium-scale agricultural production and processing.

“Fruits and vegetables are the nutritious commodities that are lost and wasted the most. We need to work together with various stakeholders to improve the situation and reduce food loss (and waste) in Indonesia”, said Retno Sri Hartati Mulyandari, Secretary of Directorate General of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture.

FAO will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture to explore the bottlenecks and pay-offs in reducing food loss in selected perishable horticulture commodities. The study will focus on three selected commodities, namely Chili in Banyuwangi, East Java, Shallots in Brebes, Central Java, and Cabbage in Cianjur, West Java.

FAO

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