Foods, voluntarily or not, thrown away while the world misses: Thus stands the picture where some are in abundance while scarcity rages in other countries. Harvests do not reach markets before decomposition. It's a food paradox that rules the world. Originally, lack of equitable management of food production. According to the data, the waste is more felt in developed countries during post-harvest losses are the preserve of developing countries. Togo, a country in West Africa happens to be in the mix.
After a survey of a group of gardeners in the city of Kara (450 km north of Lomé, the capital of Togo) the report is almost alarming: Several products market garden deteriorate before they go on sale. So we are talking about losses for these farmers and indirectly, a hindrance to sustainable food.
Sustainable food is a food that protects and respects biodiversity and ecosystems, is economically equitable, accessible and, above all, makes natural resources more conducive.
Now, it turns out that one-third (1/3) of the food produced in the world is thrown away or lost; which does not guarantee sustainable food for future generations.
In Togo, 40% of agricultural production is lost
In Togo, reliable and up-to-date data on post-harvest losses are almost non-existent. In 2013, the Minister of Environment and Forest Resources of former Dédé Ekoué, declared that in Togo 40% of agricultural production is lost while agriculture remains the key sector of the economy of Togo (35 to 40%). The case of gardeners on the banks of the Kara River is illustrative. They spend to make their garden but have no proportional yield.
Our investigation took into account the farms of three young people specialized in the cultivation of tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, beetroot, lettuce, cabbages, in short vegetable that can supply the urban populations in this city about 450 km north of Lome.
Climate change and price volatility: two main causes of post-harvest losses among market gardeners in Kara
These young people face the losses of their crops which they justify for two reasons: The bad weather and the fall of the prices on the market since they do not have appropriate means to conserve their market garden products. In 2016, the theme of World Food Day was: climate change, food and agriculture too. Evidence in developing countries such as Togo where agriculture is dependent on the seasons.
Anthonio Isaac Monteiro, Resident Representative of FAO (United Nations Fund for Agriculture and Food) in Togo, said that "when the climate changes, it has an impact on agriculture. development path like Togo, is a rainfed agriculture.When it rains too much or not at all or when it does not rain, we have problems.It is necessary to develop mechanisms of resilience and attenuations of climatic effects ".
"It happens that if we sow very early and there is flood of the river that carries our crops," said Tchass young gardener who to enjoy the water makes his garden on the banks of the Kara River. 15 km away, Pastor also says: "If I have lettuce, cabbage or pepper plants and there is a breakdown, there is nothing to be done. we do not have a cold room to keep them time to resell them "
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However, according to the FAO, greenhouse gas emissions from decaying food in landfills emit methane, a greenhouse gas about 25 times more toxic than carbon dioxide and each year the losses and Food wastes generate 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Global emissions of gas due to food losses and waste are almost equal to those caused by road transport, accelerating climate change while creating food insecurity.
Food loss and waste is a blow to Goal 2 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which calls for the elimination of hunger in the world. At this pace, it is impossible to annihilate hunger on the planet by 2030.
Transformation and conservation of agricultural products: One of the possible solutions
In order to limit food losses, a young Togolese had the ingenious idea of transforming tomatoes, bottling them and keeping them for more or less long-term use and convenience.
"Our main objective is to fight against the waste and the loss of farmers' income because, when the farmer produces and can not sell, it is a loss and he is offered to sell them to us. a good price for him and for us, we save them, it avoids post-harvest losses, we would also like to deliver this product to the population at a stable price during times of scarcity and abundance "said Ismael Tanko, promoter of Togo Timati (Togolese tomatoes).
Before that, the peasants had only one option: to sell the goods at cheap prices without counting, the prices of the inputs (fertilizer) and all that goes with the maintenance. Shortfall.
And Pastor added: "Either for tomato, the solution is to extract the seeds, keep them and sell them in the new season or reuse them yourself".
It is obvious that the world's undernourished people are small farmers. They are also vulnerable to rising temperatures and other disasters related to climate hazards. Concerted actions are needed to build resilience otherwise, the poorest people will be more likely to be unable to produce and generate income to support themselves.
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