Why in News?

• The FAO Representation in India says cutting food loss and waste can deliver a “triple win”: better food security and nutrition, lower emissions and resource pressure, and higher farm incomes.
• India is the only country to have conducted three national post-harvest loss surveys (2005-07, 2012-14, 2020-22), covering 45, 45 and 54 commodities respectively. A fourth round is under way.

Understanding Food Loss and Food Waste

• Food loss happens at the production, post-harvest, storage and processing stages.
• Food waste happens at the retail, food-service and household levels.
• SDG 12.3 aims to halve per-capita food waste at retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along supply chains by 2030.
• Existing Indian data mainly covers farm and supply-chain losses; data on retail, hotel, restaurant and household waste remains weak.

• Wholesale markets can generate up to 100 tonnes of organic waste a day; nationally this comes to about 3.5 million tonnes a year.
• Treating this waste could offset about 3.3 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent annually — worth close to $30 million in carbon credits.
• A 50-tonne-a-day bio-CNG plant in Surat has run through a private-sector partnership for over five years, cutting methane-related emissions by about 7,500 tonnes a year.
• The FAO and SIDBI are linking loss hotspots with drying, moisture control, cooling and storage technologies, with finance for MSMEs.
• The FAO is developing a “Package of Practices” for cities to measure, prevent, reduce, redistribute and valorise waste.

• Economy: Lower losses mean higher farmer incomes, fewer distress sales and better returns on inputs.
• Environment: Organic waste in landfills releases methane, so composting and biogas reduce emissions and save land, water and energy.
• Society: Saving produced food improves availability, and surplus edible food can be redistributed to the needy.
• Governance: Urban local bodies and market committees handle waste, so Centre-State-local coordination is essential.

• Food security: Saving food already grown is faster and cheaper than growing more.
• Climate action: Diverting market waste from landfills gives a large and immediate emissions benefit.
• Circular economy: Compost, biogas and energy from waste turn a disposal problem into an income source.
• Global standing: India’s survey-based evidence strengthens its SDG reporting.

• Data gaps on retail, restaurant and household waste make target-setting difficult.
• Infrastructure deficits in cold chains, drying and storage cause the highest losses in perishables.
• Small farmers, FPOs and MSMEs often struggle to access affordable credit for better storage and processing.
• Uneven local conditions mean that one model cannot be copied everywhere.

Constitutional Provisions

• Article 47: Directs the State to improve nutrition levels and public health.
• Article 48A: Mandates protection and improvement of the environment.
• Article 51A(g): Makes it a fundamental duty of citizens to protect and improve the environment.
• Twelfth Schedule: Assigns local bodies functions related to solid waste management and public sanitation.

Key Laws & Rules

• National Food Security Act, 2013: Aims to ensure food and nutritional security for vulnerable sections.
• Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: Regulates food safety and quality standards.
• Solid Waste Management Rules: Provide a framework for segregation, collection, processing and scientific disposal of waste.