Some 34pc crops, worth 4pc of GDP, lost pre-consumption

Bangladesh loses about 34 per cent of its farm produce before it reaches consumers, which is equal to 4.0 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), said experts on Monday.
Addressing a national conference titled "Towards Zero Food Waste and Loss: Building a Sustainable Food Value Chain in Bangladesh", they warned the massive loss reduced food security, pushed up prices, and harmed the environment.
The event - organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh, the World Bank (WB), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) - was held at a hotel in the capital to mark the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.
The findings of the study titled "Bangladesh: Food Loss and Waste Diagnostic" were unveiled at the programme.
According to the study, improving food and nutrition security is likely to be the most important objective considering the demographic threat to food security in Bangladesh, losses from climate change, and the changing diet habits.
It said Bangladesh's growing population - expected to grow by another 17 per cent or 30 million, reaching nearly 193 million by 2050 - would exacerbate the food security challenge.
By 2050, Bangladesh may lose 17 per cent of its territory due to rising sea levels, resulting in the loss of 30 per cent of its agricultural land, it noted.
The report further said Bangladesh loses and wastes 34 per cent of the available food. Of this, rice accounts for 23 per cent, fish 36 per cent, and mango 29 per cent, while the loss is measured as 4.0 per cent of the GDP.
Speaking at the programme, Farida Akhter, fisheries and livestock adviser, stressed the importance of tackling food waste to ensure food security.
She said, "Despite impressive growth, Bangladesh still suffers from malnutrition, particularly among women, and food distribution remains unequal."
"Therefore, the reduction in food waste and loss is a critical step for Bangladesh to ensure food security," she added.
Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasised the importance of farmer-friendly agriculture and highlighted the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) initiative, which would cover 0.20 million hectares of land within the next three years.
Charge D'Affaires at the Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh Anders Karlsen emphasised the global scale of food loss, stating, "One-third of all food produced, using land larger than China to produce food no one will eat, is either lost or wasted. It is not just the food that is wasted; farmland and greenhouse gases are also lost during production and transportation."
CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun said, "If we are raising 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," she said.
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. Despite a surplus, food waste prevents sufficient food from reaching those most in need."
Jesse Wood, deputy country director and office in charge at WFP Bangladesh, focused on 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 $2.4 billion.
Dr Samina Yasmin, senior agriculture specialist at the World Bank, said, "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."
Fawzia Yasmin, director at Ispahani Agro, 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 said, "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 leads to unnecessary food waste."
The speakers said food was wasted at almost every step of the value chain - from harvesting and handling to transport, storage, and retail.

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