Conference on Reducing Food Waste

Conference Held on Reducing Food Waste The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Regional Coordination Centre for Food Security of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, held a conference on reducing food loss and waste in Azerbaijan, Central Asia and Turkey. According to a written statement from FAO, on "29 September International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste," the conference within the scope of the "Project on Reducing Food Loss and Waste in Azerbaijan, Central Asia and Turkey" assessed current challenges related to food loss and waste in the said regions and the necessary work for reducing food loss and waste. At the conference, national governments in the sub-region were invited to support the necessary policy changes and to use regulatory mechanisms to create an enabling environment for other partners to take action to reduce food loss and waste. The conference, which also featured best practices and success stories, aimed to inspire multi-disciplinary, solution-oriented cooperation among public, private sector and civil society actors as well as between countries.

Concrete Steps to Reduce Waste Will Be Taken

FAO Central Asia Sub-Regional Office Coordinator and FAO Representative to Turkey Viorel Gutu stated: "Policymakers must create an enabling framework that includes policy mechanisms and regulatory mechanisms, encouraging other actors to take concrete steps that will reduce food loss and waste." Regional Coordination Centre Regional Program Coordinator Ahmet Volkan Güngören also pointed out that reducing food loss and waste is among priority issues. Director General of European Union and Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Aylin Çağlayan Özcan said Turkey is ready to share its own experiences in reducing food loss and waste and to draw lessons from the experiences of other countries.