Saving surplus food from agriculture can be decisive

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 08. 09. 11:54

As a result of the growth of the world population, climate change, the Covid pandemic and the economic effects of the war raging next door, the number of hungry people in the world is increasing. One of the biggest social challenges of our time is providing humanity with an adequate amount of healthy and nutritious food, as well as curbing food waste, to which agricultural actors can also contribute.

According to the UN’s 2023 report, the world’s population is expected to continue to grow in the coming decades, albeit at a gradually slower pace. According to the forecasts of the international organization, the world’s population may rise to 10.4 billion people by the 2080s, then stabilize or begin a gradual decline. At the same time, according to the 2024 report published jointly by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, in 2023, 713-757 million people, i.e. 8.9 and 9.4 percent of the world’s population, could go hungry. Considering the middle value (733 million), this is about 152 million more people than in 2019. Considering the data of these two reports, it is clear that in the coming decades special attention must be paid to the maintenance and support of food and nutrition security.

One of the biggest problems to be solved in food production and consumption is food waste, by reducing which the waste of invested resources can be prevented. Based on UN data, 1.3 billion tons, i.e. about a third of the food produced, is wasted worldwide every year, along with all the resources needed for production. So curbing food waste is not only a social task, but can significantly contribute to the protection of the environment and the reduction of resource wastage.