Shanghai - On 8 December, more than 170 entrepreneurs, investors, experts, food lovers and media reporters who shared interest in scientific innovation in food technology gathered in co-working space to participate in the second Bits x Bites Harvest Day, a food tech accelerator showcase event.

At the event, Vincent Martin, Representative of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in China and DPR Korea, delivered a keynote speech entitled "Innovation to Feed the World". Mr. Martin gave a brief overview of the serious challenges global food systems are facing today highlighting the need to reinvent the food system of the future through social innovation and partnerships. He also focused on the impact of enormous food waste and loss on available food supplies in the world today. 

One-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year. Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production down to final household consumption. Food losses embody waste of valuable resources used in production such as land, water, energy and other inputs which also contribute to environmental footprint of agricultural production through greenhouse gas emissions. In developing countries, most losses occur even before the food reaches to the consumer because of deficiencies infrastructure, storage, processing, packaging and marketing. About 130 kg of food per person per year is estimated to go to waste in the South and Southeast Asian region with about 90 percent of the loss originating from post-harvest and processing.

As problems become more complex and global, more focus need to be directed to innovation and strengthening collaboration among various sectors, Mr. Martin emphasized. For example, the public sector which traditionally subsidizes most agricultural research and development will continue to play an important role in spurring agricultural innovation. At the same time, the private sector is a key stakeholder in allowing innovations to find applications in food systems. It will play the role of incubator of ideas in food technology by supporting a new generation of business startups paving the way for enterprise development in food business.

Finally, Vincent Martin introduced the innovation journey in FAO China: the establishment of agricultural innovation lab (Ag-LabCx); reaching out to partners and innovators in the food systems arena; exploring new mechanism for funding and working with private sector partners and start-ups involved in reshaping food systems.

Ag-LabCx is a space and a set of protocols for engaging the government, young people, technicians, the private sector and civil society in problem-solving. It is dedicated to experimentation, prototyping and development of innovative projects. Quoting the Secretary General of the UN, he highlighted that the “United Nations would be a catalyst for action, an innovator, a convener and champion of what works, using evidence and data to inform national planning and prioritization and our coordinated supports to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development goals”. 

After the speech, five start-ups of Bits x Bites introduced their products. These were semi-finished raw food kit letting people enjoy the cooking delicacy while saving the purchase and preparation time; food contamination detection machine using new optical spectrum technology by a team from Israel; traditional Guangdong style soup for young consumers; after six years of R&D, a blockchain engineered solution to tackle supply chain transparency by a team from Slovenia and probiotic-rich functional tea drink.

Being both original and practical, these projects are full of technological innovation and market exploration. Their products or solutions satisfy the constantly changing and growing demands from food consumers, food producers and sales enterprises in the new era, which have aroused great interest of the participants. During the networking period afterwards, the audience carried out more in-depth and detailed communication and exchanges with the start-up teams while cooking or tasting the delicious food and drink.