The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology

Our objective is to improve how food loss is quantified and characterize the nature of food loss across the value chain for different commodities in a wide array of countries. For this purpose, we designed a set of surveys to measure the extent of food loss. While the surveys were tailored to specif...

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Main Authors: Delgado, Luciana, Schuster, Monica, Torero, Máximo
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148474
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author Delgado, Luciana
Schuster, Monica
Torero, Máximo
author_browse Delgado, Luciana
Schuster, Monica
Torero, Máximo
author_facet Delgado, Luciana
Schuster, Monica
Torero, Máximo
author_sort Delgado, Luciana
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Our objective is to improve how food loss is quantified and characterize the nature of food loss across the value chain for different commodities in a wide array of countries. For this purpose, we designed a set of surveys to measure the extent of food loss. While the surveys were tailored to specific countries and commodities and commodity varieties (for example, while Maize in Honduras and Guatemala have the same attributes, wheat in China has different attributes than wheat in Mexico), they provide a consistent measurement of food loss across different agents in the value chain (i.e., farmers, middlemen, and processors). The surveys capture detailed information about these agents’ different processes and quantify food loss along each production stage by collecting self-reported measures of the volumes and values of food losses incurred during different processes (harvesting, threshing, milling, shelling, winnowing, drying, packaging, transporting, sorting, picking, transforming, etc.). In addition, we estimate losses based on commodity damage by collecting detailed data from farmers, middlemen, and processors regarding the quality (based on damage coefficients) of agricultural commodities that they use as inputs and outputs. This allows us to quantify food loss in terms of the quality attributable to each agent across the value chain. Finally, we also estimate food loss based on commodity attributes by capturing information about different types of commodity attributes (e.g., size, impurities, broken grain, etc.) and ascertaining the price penalty that each of these types of crop damage entails. In this line, we are able to identify particular factors that diminish commodities’ values and thus are able to quantify food quality loss based on market conditions.
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spelling CGSpace1484742025-11-06T07:22:52Z The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology Delgado, Luciana Schuster, Monica Torero, Máximo harvesting losses supply chains food wastes food losses food supply developing countries food supply chains methodology postharvest losses Our objective is to improve how food loss is quantified and characterize the nature of food loss across the value chain for different commodities in a wide array of countries. For this purpose, we designed a set of surveys to measure the extent of food loss. While the surveys were tailored to specific countries and commodities and commodity varieties (for example, while Maize in Honduras and Guatemala have the same attributes, wheat in China has different attributes than wheat in Mexico), they provide a consistent measurement of food loss across different agents in the value chain (i.e., farmers, middlemen, and processors). The surveys capture detailed information about these agents’ different processes and quantify food loss along each production stage by collecting self-reported measures of the volumes and values of food losses incurred during different processes (harvesting, threshing, milling, shelling, winnowing, drying, packaging, transporting, sorting, picking, transforming, etc.). In addition, we estimate losses based on commodity damage by collecting detailed data from farmers, middlemen, and processors regarding the quality (based on damage coefficients) of agricultural commodities that they use as inputs and outputs. This allows us to quantify food loss in terms of the quality attributable to each agent across the value chain. Finally, we also estimate food loss based on commodity attributes by capturing information about different types of commodity attributes (e.g., size, impurities, broken grain, etc.) and ascertaining the price penalty that each of these types of crop damage entails. In this line, we are able to identify particular factors that diminish commodities’ values and thus are able to quantify food quality loss based on market conditions. 2017 2024-06-21T09:24:47Z 2024-06-21T09:24:47Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148474 en https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/80378 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101958 application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Delgado, Luciana; Schuster, Monica; and Torero, Maximo. 2017. The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1686. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148474
spellingShingle harvesting losses
supply chains
food wastes
food losses
food supply
developing countries
food supply chains
methodology
postharvest losses
Delgado, Luciana
Schuster, Monica
Torero, Máximo
The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
title The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
title_full The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
title_fullStr The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
title_full_unstemmed The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
title_short The reality of food losses: A new measurement methodology
title_sort reality of food losses a new measurement methodology
topic harvesting losses
supply chains
food wastes
food losses
food supply
developing countries
food supply chains
methodology
postharvest losses
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148474
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