Estimates of Food Losses and Wastes at Each Node of the Wheat Value Chain in Morocco: Implications on Food and Energy Security, Natural Resources, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract

Several research and development efforts have been made to ensure food security in developing countries. Dissemination of improved agricultural technologies was used as the main avenue through which some increases in food supply have been achieved. However, food insecurity remains a major challenge. This paper argues and provides empirical evidence that reducing food loss and waste can be an effective food and energy security, and natural resource, and environmental conservation strategy. Following the life cycle framework, the annual amount of wheat-based food lost or wasted from farm-to-fork in Morocco was estimated at 4 million tons (equivalent to 36% of total supply) valued at US$1.0 billion. Among all nodes, the magnitudes of farm management-related losses, wastage during consumption, and storage losses rank first to third accounting for about 17.4%, 7.92%, and 7.06%, respectively of total wheat supply in the country. Were these losses and wastes entirely prevented, Morocco would have been able to feed 29.3 million more people, or save 1.79 million hectares of land, 2.66 billion m3 of water, and 64.28 million GJ of energy, and prevented the emission from landfills of at least 16.61 million kg of methane annually. Besides the ongoing efforts to disseminate agricultural technologies, the Moroccan government needs to develop short- and medium-term national strategies to reduce food losses and wastage particularly targeting the storage and consumption nodes. Replacing bread subsidy with food vouchers targeting only the needy and creation of public awareness about the magnitudes and consequences of food loss and wastage alone may go long way in reducing them.

Valorization of Food Waste as Animal Feed: A Step towards Sustainable Food Waste Management and Circular Bioeconomy

“…As a result, growers are regarded as the main producers. At the secondary level of the human food chain, warehouses and businesses such as flour mills and food preservation mills can be thought of as primary distributors [ 16 ]. Due to the fact that they create processed food ingredients, they might also be considered secondary producers [ 17 ].…”

The management and prevention of food losses and waste in low- and middle-income countries: A mini-review in the Africa region

“…FW has been characterized in numerous ways, including natural resources (Shurson, 2020), cooking food, human food chain level and physical state (Nath et al, 2023). Agriculture is the initial link in the food chain, followed by warehouses and businesses such as flour mills and food preservation factories (Bartali et al, 2022). In this human food chain, FW can be divided into the following categories: (i) agro FWs derived from farmers, (ii) industrial FWs derived from wholesalers, (iii) market FWs derived from secondary distributors, (iv) hotel and restaurants FWs derived from secondary distributors in the form of cooked products and (v) domestic FWs derived from customers (Nath et al, 2023).…”

Efficacy of Various Plant Extracts and Synergism Against Domestic Species of Rice Weevil Sitophilous Oryzae (Curculionidae: Coleoptera)

“…An estimated 600 species of store grain pests have been identified so far which attack and cause a significant quantitative and qualitative losses to these valuable agricultural commodities [1]. The rate of infestation is high in tropical region (20-30%, most likely due to suitable weather conditions that favor their growth and reproduction) than temperate zone (5-10%) [2].…”