By Lanre Omotosho
September 29 every year has been set aside as International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste globally, to raise awareness on the importance of food loss and waste reduction.
In this special report, correspondent Lanre Omotoso takes the microphone to the stakeholders to get their opinions on how to prevent food loss and wastage.
Statistics have shown that over 13% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while 19% of total global food production is wasted in households and food service.
In an interview, the Head of Agriculture Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Kayode Elegbeleye noted that about 940 billion dollars worth of foods are wasted annually due to improper management.
Dr. Elegbeleye explained that food loss and wastages occurred at various stages from planting, harvesting, transportation and storage, hence the need to find lasting solution.
As part of solution to food loss, he called on all levels of governments to construct motorable roads for easier transportation of foods from farmland to the cities, as well as making farm machineries available to attract more youth into the sector.
Dr. Elegbeleye also advised consumers to always cook only the amount of food they could finish at once, rather than allowing the leftovers to constitute pollution.
In his contribution, Dr. Ayoola Oluwajobi of the department of Plant Science, Federal University Oye-Ekiti emphasized that food loss and waste often trigger hunger, malnutrition, poverty and crimes.
Dr. Oluwajobi explained that food loss and waste began from planting of bad seeds to harvesting, processing and storage, charging farmers to plant good seeds that would give them bountiful yields.
He stressed that if farmers nurtured their good seeds with appropriate water, sunlight, manure, weed regularly, process and store their produce under hygienic conditions, they would be able to have more money and feed well.
The respondents submitted that preservation of food through drying, refrigeration, conversion of excess cooked food for further use would salvage the dwindling economy.
