Launch of the Community of Practice on Food loss reduction at CFS side event

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, FAO, IFAD and WFP officially launched the Community of Practice (CoP) on Food Loss Reduction during a side event held at the 41st session of CFS on 14th October 2014 in Rome.

The CoP is one of the major outcomes of the first joint project being implemented by FAO, IFAD and WFP, and funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation: Mainstreaming Food Loss Reduction Initiatives for Smallholders in Food-Deficit Areas (RBA/GLO/001/SWI). The project represents an innovative approach to close collaboration between the three Rome-based UN agencies; it is hoped that its model can be scaled up in the future. The new online platform fosters efforts to curb food losses through information sharing.

The CoP Web site includes background information, relevant news, events, online discussion fora, resources (online libraries, databases, repositories with relevant materials), and links to partners. It is a dynamic platform that will facilitate information sharing and coordination, and it will be enriched with updated information on a regular basis.

In the Forum section of the site, a first online discussion on losses occurring along maize value chains (level of losses, causes, successful solutions that have been/can be promoted) is ongoing. Maize is indeed one of the major food crops selected by the three pilot countries (Burkina Faso, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) involved in the RBA project on food loss reduction.

To participate in the online discussions, register and login into CoP!

Photo: ©FAO/Alessia Pierdomenico