The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the twelfth of which is “Responsible consumption and production,” namely: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Under this major goal, there are 17 targets, the 12.3 of which is “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.”

●Current Situation

About the World

17% of the world's food is wasted, which can fill trucks that circle the earth seven times if connected from head to tail

According to statistics, the total amount of food in the world today is enough to feed 15 billion people, but in the face of 7 billion people on the earth, there are still nearly 800 million people without food. The reason for this is not only the output of grain, but also the waste of grain. In 2021, the per capita food consumption of all countries in the world will be 328 million tons.

In the latest Food Waste Index Report 2021 released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), it is estimated that 931 million tons of food in the world were sent to the trash cans of families, retailers, restaurants and other food service enterprises in 2019, accounting for 17 percent of the total food available for consumers. According to the report, the wasted food can fill 23 million trucks with a capacity of 40 tons. These trucks which are connected from head to tail can circle the earth seven times.

At the same time, the report found that although it is generally believed that "food waste" is a problem that only occurs in high-income countries, the analysis of the report shows that almost every country and region assessed has food waste, and the degree of waste is quite serious regardless of income level. The report found that the food waste in households was particularly serious, accounting for 11 percent of the total food available for consumers, and the waste in food service and retail industries accounted for 5 percent and 2 percent respectively. On to the per capita level, 121 kg of food will be wasted by consumers every year in the world, including 74 kg of food wasted by households.

The report pointed out that waste of food will have a significant impact on the environment, society and economy. The research shows that if the waste generated in each stepof the food supply chain is taken into account, the greenhouse gas emissions related to food waste will account for 8 percent to10 percent of the total global emissions.

Source: yicai.com

About China

China's grain saving and loss reduction promote world food security

According to the estimation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, China loses more than 6 percent of its grain every year in the process of harvesting, transportation, storage and processing. For example, the total grain output of China in 2020 is 1,339 billion catty, the total amount of grain lost and wasted in that year will reach 80.3 billion catty, which is close to the total annual grain output of Anhui, a major grain producing province.

With the development of economy and the improvement of science and technology, the trend of grain loss and waste in China is also changing from "high loss and low waste" to "low loss and high waste". According to a survey of nearly 5,000 farmer households in 28 provinces, conducted by the grain economy research team of China Agricultural University from 2016 to 2017, the average harvest loss of the three major grain crops in China is about 3 percent, and the loss and waste rate of farmers in consumption is about 7.3 percent.

In recent years, China has implemented the high-quality grain project and the grain security project, strengthened the construction of grain storage facilities, established grain post-production service centers, promoted grain post-production loss reduction technology, and improved its ability to scientifically store grain. During the "13th Five Year Plan" period, the loss of post-production circulation of grain was reduced by about 13 million tons each year, making positive contributions to maintaining national and world food security, saving resources and reducing carbon emissions.

Sources: People.com.cn

●Cases

About the World

The "food sharing" project in Denmark

A woman named Selena Gio studied the problem of food waste in detail and began to take action. She first published short messages on Facebook, and then, with the help of her friends, created the STOP WASTING FOOD website, which specializes in dealing with waste food. The activity gradually affected Denmark and other Scandinavian countries.

"We don't need gifts from others. On the contrary, we need to take away extra things. We often tell shop owners, 'Do you want to throw these things away? It's better to let volunteers take them away so that you don't have to throw them into the garbage.' We are responsible for transporting food away and giving it to people in need. Our goal is to save food.”

Source: Russian translation 

Ghana's commodity aggregators

Ghana’s strong commitment to agricultural growth is supported by commodity aggregators (CAs), who procure produce from local smallholder farmers. The CAs have contacts with corporate buyers and government schemes that are interested in bulk purchases of crops. Their presence in local markets weakens the power of traders and helps ensure fair prices for farmers. In Northern Ghana, the aggregators secure funds to pre-finance farm inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) and equipment. They buy sorghum from farmers to supply to brewers and wholesalers. They provide extension advice and provide off-farm drying, cleaning and storage facilities. With government backing, the CAs have helped farmers to reduce PHLs by promoting mechanized threshing, field drying using tarpaulins, prompt and efficient harvests, and reductions in household-level storage.

The farmer (shown in the photo) is drying sorghum grains on a tarpaulin rather than on the bare ground. This helps to reduce losses as well as the contamination of the grain with foreign matter, thereby improving its quality and potential to sell to formal markets. If this experience could be replicated throughout the sorghum value chain, it is estimated that Ghana would save 16,120 tons of sorghum with a value of USD 3.55 million and the capacity to provide the annual dietary energy (kcal) requirements of about 102,000 children under five.

Source: FAO of the UN

About China

“Black technology” helps intelligent granary construction

In recent years, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to food security, and have successively launched the "Food Security Project", "Safe Grain and Oil", "Smart Grain", "High Quality Grain Project" and other projects, which have continuously improved China's food quality security system.

The intelligent granary is based on sensor technology, computer technology, multimedia technology and large-scale storage technology. With the network as the link, it uses massive granary information to carry out multi-resolution, multi-scale, multi space-time and multi-category digital description of the granary, and uses the digital information system as a tool to improve the staff's management of grain storage.

During grain storage, due to the change of environment, climate, ventilation conditions and other factors, the temperature or humidity in the granary will be abnormal, which will easily cause grain decay or damage by insect. At the same time, the grain storage quality in the granary is also affected by the gas, microorganism, pest and other factors in the granary.

Therefore, storage is the key to achieve grain saving and loss reduction. In Henan, a main wheat producing province, the local government has adopted "green" grain storage technology and process, and adopted information and intelligent equipment to put new grains in smart granaries, ensuring food security.

Sources: meter365.com

Sinograin Shenzhen Depot uses hightech to build a cornerstone for food security

The Sinograin Shenzhen Depot was completed at the end of 2005. At present, it mainly stores rice, wheat, flour and other major grain types. It has always been committed to promoting its intelligent granary depot. Through the three modules of grain situation detection, intelligent security and data monitoring, the depot has been monitored in real time in an all-round way without dead ends.

Li Zuoping, head of the storage team of the Sinograin Shenzhen Depot, said, "Nitrogen is a good helper for grain storage. It can basically replace chemical agents, reduce the use of chemical agents in grain storage, and reduce the exposure of keepers to chemical agents. Moreover, nitrogen controlled grain storage can effectively reduce grain loss and delay the change of grain quality."

At present, all warehouses directly under the Sinograin Shenzhen Depot can store grain by adjusting nitrogen gas. Each warehouse is equipped with a pipeline to transport nitrogen. In a green, environment-friendly, energy-saving and efficient way, the Sinograin Shenzhen Depot fulfills its responsibilities as a granary in a big country.

Source: jb.sznews.com

●Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiated by the United Nations

On January 1, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.