Colombia, a nation with an agricultural vocation had a production of 34.27 million food items for 2021. However, the international discussion is about the amount of food that is wasted in the world and in this case in the country.
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As part of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste celebrations, the FAO estimated the number of people affected by 2021 increased to 828 million due to world hunger, This is an increase of 46 million from the number presented for 2020.
Likewise, the organization said around 14% of global food production, a figure estimated at $400,000 million annually, continues to be lost after harvest. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) points out similarly in its report on the Food Waste Index At least 17% of these products are wasted by retailers and consumerss, especially in houses.
For his part, QU Dongyu, Director-General of FAO, said: “Let us continue to work together efficiently, effectively and coherently to raise awareness and put an end to food loss and waste. For a healthy population and a healthy planet.
Food waste also comes as Britain records its driest July since 1935, further affecting production.
EFE
However, the figures for the country are not entirely encouraging, according to the National Administration for Statistics (Dane), the percentage of households that will throw away or throw away vegetables in the country by 2021 indicates that Chocó can score the 10.5% vegetable waste listthe department of Nariño continued with 7.8%, a figure that continues to decrease with Risaralda, which presented 7.3%.
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For its part, Atlántico showed vegetable waste in 6.6%, while z In the case of San Andrés, it was 6.2%. Bogotá recorded losses of 5.8% for this food, while Boyacá reached 5.3%. This is followed by Magdalena with 5.2% waste, Valle with 4.9% and Caldas with 4.8%.
According to the institution, the national total is presented Drops of 4.5% and below are followed by the departments of Quindío with 4.5%, Antioquia with losses of 4.4%, Cundinamarca with 4.4%, Putumayo, Cauca and Caquetá with 4.0%, 3.5% and 3.4% respectively.
Likewise, according to the Dane report, in the departments with the lowest percentage of vegetable waste Guainía is at 0.7%, La Guajira reached 1.1%, while Vaupés showed a drop of 1.2%. Santander was up 1.3%, while Vichada was up 1.4%. Regarding Meta, Córdoba and Huila, wastage was 1.4%, 1.8% and 1.9% respectively.
Now looking at the food groups that are wasted the most, the entity has stated that Vegetables top the list with 4.5%, followed by fruit with a share of 4.1%. They are followed by tubers and bananas with 1.9%, milk, cheese and dairy products with 1.4% and rice, pasta and other cereals with 1.4%. For meat, chicken and fish, the drop reached 1.3%, as did cereals, beans, lentils, chickpeas, among others, which also reached 1.3%. The food with less waste was the egg at 0.7%.
Among other data, according to the Food Bank of Colombia, it is worth noting that the ÍThe agricultural self-sufficiency index is 74.9%, Therefore, it is important to “reduce food losses and waste, as according to the 2016 DNP report, 34% of the food available for Colombian consumption is wasted each year, or about 9.76 million tons. ‘ they explained.
Matías Troncar, manager of Frubana Colombia, said the company moves 7,000 tons of groceries a monthonly 1% is wasted. “Reducing food waste is a collaborative effort by all actors in the food chain, governments and people. We invest in technologies that allow us to make visible that there are tools to make a positive impact,” he assured.
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Measures to reduce food waste
With data from the Special Administrative Unit for Public Services (Uaesp), In Bogotá, 1,228,000 tons of food are lost every yearindicating that at least 12.58% of all food in the country is lost.
On the other hand, the FAO called for action so that “public and private entities across the agri-food system act now to measure and reduce food loss and waste, and change consumer behavior” and so on.
Similarly, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said: “Halving food waste is an important part of the effort to tackle the urgent climate and food crises.”
Diana K Rodriguez T