Food waste accounts for approximately 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gasses emissions. This can be estimated to be around 3.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent annually. In Kenya, prevalently from agriculture, the up to 40% of produce is lost before reaching the market. This affects the entire agricultural value chain mainly due to post harvest losses. This contributes heavily to economic losses because agriculture is a main contributor of the gross domestic product in the country.
Policy issues also have emerged in the food systems discussions noting the gaps and ongoing conversations around it. Contrary to sustainability, most policies revolve around increasing productivity and profits hence the need for diversification. The government also needs to spearhead value addition for irrigated produce powered by research and science. In the ongoing discussions, various policies are being put to support sustainable food systems; The National Agricultural Mechanization Policy, National Soil Management Policy and the National Irrigation Policy.
Food systems need to be addressed wholly to achieve impactful solutions. It is important for young people to focus on youth-led agricultural innovations; starting from digital innovations, agricultural transformation and energy infrastructure. In addressing them, we can get different scenarios, challenges and solutions for food loss and food waste. Reducing food waste is a critical step towards lowering greenhouse gasses emissions and improving food security.
Food systems require evidence-based research and factual data to back them up. A case example, Africa and Kenya have insufficient information on food loss and food waste. This limits scenario planning and action-oriented strategies. In addition, food waste driven emissions come from various stages of the food supply chain; production, processing, transportation and disposal. Unless there is sufficient data on the interconnectedness, it is difficult to ascertain the solution for each step.
Youth participation in climate smart agriculture and food systems promotes the mainstreaming of climate change in food systems and eventually building a resilient community. This is because of their ingenuity in creating sustainable solutions. The utilization of resources while maximizing benefits also creates good governance and management systems in the sector. This results in effective utilization of ecosystem benefits.
Besides, notable gaps in the food system sector result from different approaches;
- Limited investments on research and development on food systems.
- Inadequate support for grassroot smallholder farmers
- Limited access to finance and market.
- Weak enforcement and regulations for labor markets.
Some of the opportunities and recommendations for sustainable food systems are;
- Promoting community engagement for youth and farmers at the grassroot level.
- Advocating for intergenerational discussions to promote inclusivity and engagements.
- Commitment to integrity of ethical standards, value-based decision making and research.
- Embracing innovation for sustainability.
Conclusively, the youth need to enhance their advocacy efforts to ensure food systems are equitable and sustainable. Through capacity building programs and education, then data and research can be enhanced for high and quality outputs. The information will also enable them to engage in policy engagements, decision making tables and proper implementation of the set action plans.