The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
Our objective is to improve how food loss is quantified and characterize the nature of food loss across the value chain for different commodities in a wide array of countries.
Our objective is to improve how food loss is quantified and characterize the nature of food loss across the value chain for different commodities in a wide array of countries. For this purpose, we designed a set of surveys to measure the extent of food loss. While the surveys were tailored to specific countries and commodities and commodity varieties (for example, while Maize in Honduras and Guatemala have the same attributes, wheat in China has different attributes than wheat in Mexico), they provide a consistent measurement of food loss across different agents in the value chain (i.e., farmers, middlemen, and processors). The surveys capture detailed information about these agents’ different processes and quantify food loss along each production stage by collecting self-reported measures of the volumes and values of food losses incurred during different processes.
Delgado, Luciana; Schuster, Monica; and Torero, Maximo. 2017. The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1686. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131530
