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Earlier this week, on 29 September 2024, the world commemorated the fifth International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) jointly convene this day to raise awareness about food loss and waste, its impact on food security, environmental sustainability, and the economy. According to the FAO (2023) if 25% of global food waste were recovered, it could feed approximately 1.26 billion people, making a significant impact on global food security.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Climate Finance for Food Loss and Waste Reduction.” This theme is a call to action to expand climate financial resources to support initiatives that minimise food loss and waste. If this is done, it would enhance food security, and by extension reduce unsustainable farming practices which exacerbate climate change.
The Global Bioeconomy Summit 2024 will discuss bioeconomy solutions for reducing food loss and waste.
Converting food waste into value-added products such as bioenergy, bioplastics, and biofertilizers, is one way of promoting circularity in the food system, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. Other ways include sustainable farming to increase food production and reduce post-harvest losses.
The Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS) 2024 will be held on 23 – 24 October 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme, “One Planet: Sustainable Bioeconomy Solutions to Global Challenges”. For the first time, GBS will be held in Africa, and brings together bioeconomy experts and high-ranking representatives from politics, science, civil society, and the business sector from all hemispheres. GBS2024 discussions will cover bio-based innovations for addressing food loss and waste, including biowaste conversion, post-harvest handling, food safety and food processing, and the financing of such bioeconomic activities in relation to the climate action agenda.
GBS2024 Speakers Addressing Food Loss and Waste include, but are not limited to:
 Dr Rose Mwebaza, Director and Regional Representative for Africa, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Uganda |  Mr. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Belgium |
 Dr Julio Berdegué Sacristán, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of Mexico |  Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, President and CEO, Food Systems for the Future, USA |
 Dr Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Kenya |  Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, Secretary for Climate, Energy and Environment, Ministry of External Affairs of Brazil |
 Mr. Francis Sullivan, Chair of the Sustainable Biomass Program, Canada |  Mr. Vikash Abraham, Chief Strategy Officer, Naandi, India |
GBS2024 Workshops Addressing Food Loss and Waste include, but are not limited to:
- The Power of Many: Addressing Global Food System Challenges Through Innovation in a BioEconomy Context
- Financing the Bioeconomy
- AI-powered solutions for Pest and Disease Management in Primary Bioeconomy Production
- The Significance of Water in Bioeconomy Strategies
- Sustainable Bioenergy-Biochar Systems and Circular Bioeconomy
- Healthy Soils: An essential Prerequisite for Sustainable Bioeconomy
- Private-Public Cooperation in the bioeconomy as a driver for (re)-industrialization
- Will small-scale African farmers be active participants in the worldwide circular bioeconomy by 2044?
Register now for GBS2024 to meet and engage with the global bioeconomy community. Click here to register.
To learn more about IDAFLW, visit here.
