Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide, Second Edition and Toolkit

The “Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide” is a practical resource for educating organizational stakeholders on how to integrate considerations of food loss and waste (FLW) reduction within agricultural value chains when selecting priority chains to work in. The updated guide walks users through a 5-step process which helps in the selection of the value chain(s) while aligning FLW objectives, building ownership within the organization and buy-in from stakeholders. It provides guidance on several FLW criteria including economic outcomes, food security and nutrition, climate vulnerability, carbon footprint, water footprint, land footprint, wildlife and biodiversity, gender, youth and socially excluded and marginalized communities, and FLW investment opportunity. The guide provides guiding questions and suggested indicators that program designers and implementers can use to select crops according to their FLW goals.

The guide is accompanied by an 18-piece toolkit which includes data collection tools, templates, and presentations, to help users walk through the whole process with ease. The 5-step process leverages organizations’ existing goals and mandates to plan and mobilize resources (financial and human), frame a FLW reduction objective, prioritize value chains, collect data, and validate findings to inform FLW reduction intervention decisions.

Ultimately, the goal of the guide is to assist organizations in deciding where to invest limited funds for the greatest impacts on FLW outcomes as they relate to economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
     
Developed and piloted by Agribusiness Associates Inc. with support from USAID and the US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, the guide and toolkit draws on practical experiences working in post-harvest and food loss and waste management.

Toolkit:

• 0. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide: Second Edition 
• 1A. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Process Overview Workshop
• 1B1. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide: Food Loss & Waste Background
• 1C. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Process: Stakeholder Checklist Overview
• 2A. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Framing a Food Loss and Waste Objective Workshop Template 
• 3A. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Value Chain Prioritization Matrix Overview 
• 4A. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Data Collection Preparation Workshop Template 
• 4B. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Food Loss Data Management 
• 4C. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Semi-Structured Producer FLW Survey
• 4D. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Semi-structured Packhouse Food Loss & Waste Survey 
• 4E. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Farm Field Data Collection Tool 
• 4F. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide & Toolkit: Plant/Packhouse Data Collection Tool 
• 4G. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Food Waste Data Management 
• 4H. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Market Vendor Food Waste Survey 
• 4I. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Consumer Food Waste Survey 
• 5A. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Validation Workshop Template 
• 5B. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Collaborating, Learning, Adapting Workshop Template
• 5C. Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit: Country Food Loss & Waste Value Chain Selection Report Template 

Additional Resources:

• Overview Video of the Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide and Toolkit 

• Achieving Mitigation by Reducing Food Loss and Waste

• Webinar: Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide 

• Webinar: Soft Launch - Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide 

• Webinar: International Food Loss and Waste Hotspots and Business Models Study

• Pilot of Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide in Kenya
• Food Loss and Waste Value Chain Selection Guide Pilot in the Huetar Caribbean Region, Costa Rica

Visit the Achieving Mitigation by Reducing Food Loss and Waste for more.