On 5 and 6 October, the Regional Conference on Food Loss and Waste Reduction in Europe and Central Asia “Enabling the change” was held in Istanbul, Türkiye. The Conference was jointly organised by FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye, and the Economic Cooperation Organization Regional Coordination Centre for Food Security ECO-RCCFS, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of The Netherlands, under the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture FTPP-II funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye.
The Conference focused on identifying essential elements of enabling environment and tools, including legislative and business innovations, food loss and waste reduction strategies, and practical interventions that support the transition to sustainable food value chains.
To this end, the conference explored a broad spectrum of recent developments and challenges in the field of food loss and waste in Europe (including the European Union) and Central Asia and offered opportunities for interactive exchanges of experience and potential solutions for implementation by value chain actors and other stakeholders, operating alone or in partnership. The conference also contributed more generally to raising awareness about the complex nature of food loss and waste, and its impact on value chain actors, consumers, service providers and the environment, and suggested possible solutions.
In this context, the intervention of Angela Frigo, FEBA Secretary General, focused on the activity of FEBA Members facing multiple crises. In a context of uncertainty, when food availability but also food affordability is at stake, we should ensure that no crumb is wasted while protecting the most vulnerable citizens from food insecurity and to ensure everyone can afford sufficient amounts of healthy and nutritious food, especially vulnerable groups such as families with children, elderly and low-income persons. Food donation improves the resilience of the food system, helps our planet, and contributes to food security.
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