WEBINAR Preventing Food Loss and Waste During COVID-19

4 June 2020. Food loss and waste (FLW) is a reflection of the inefficiency, unsustainability and inequality of contemporary food systems. In the Near East and North Africa, prior to COVID-19, food systems needed transformation to reach SDGs by 2030 and sustainably deliver safe, nutritious food to growing populations. With COVID-19, the vulnerabilities of NENA food systems are ever more apparent, as containment measures and an economic downturn take their toll, including higher levels FLW. This Zoominar will explore the innovations needed to prevent FLW, and transform NENA food systems, through a lens of the evolving impacts of COVID-19.

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The Zoominar VI addressed the following questions:

1. What are the drivers of FLW for value chain actors, how is their decision-making affected by COVID-19 impacts and the resulting economic slowdown?
2. What key innovative technologies, infrastructure and practices can support value chain actors to prevent FLW in light of COVID-19 impacts on food systems?
3. What role could various actors play (public sector, international organizations, private sector, research, etc) to support value chain actors to prevent FLW in this rapidly evolving context?

Speakers:

• Roula Majdalani, Director, Sustainable Development and Policies Division, UNESCWA.
• Rob Vos, Director Markets, Trade and Institutions, IFPRI: Global perspectives: IFPRI’s FLW work and reflections on how COVID-19 is adding to food losses
• Seema Patel, CEO, Global Knowledge Initiative: Agriculture and Food Systems Innovations: The Case of the NENA Region. Innovations to reduce FLW with the most potential for use by smallholder farmers in times of COVID-19, including insights on infrastructure needs, adaptability, scalability, and usability.
• Jessica Vieira, Director of Sustainability, Apeel Sciences: An innovator’s perspective: Apeel’s solution to preventing food loss. Insights about the business model, the innovation process and what the private sector is doing in the current context of COVID-19.
• Moez ElShohdi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Food Banking Regional Network: (TBC)
• Mohammad Qqeili, CEO, Ghoorcom , Jordan - Ghoorcom is an online marketplace platform that connects farmers with businesses for enhancing food security, guiding farmers on what best to plant, and reducing waste production of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Jozimo Santos Rocha, Agro-Industry Officer (Agribusiness and Value Chains), FAORNE: Drivers of FLW along value chains and the decisions of producers, intermediaries and consumers, with evidence from Egypt and Tunisia