FOOD SECURITY AND FOOD LOSS AND WASTE IN GEORGIA...

Food security and food loss and waste in Georgia...

In Georgia, 8.9% of the population is severely affected by food insecurity. While governmental social programs are in place, many remain hungry. According to a 2016 report by Transparency International Georgia, providing a meal to every Tbilisi resident on a waiting list at a free kitchen would require a total of GEL 20 million (USD 6,7 million). Notably, charity organizations are required to buy most of the food they serve. At that, retailers, wholesalers and other food business operators record high amounts of unsold or discarded produce, which could potentially feed those in need and thereby contribute to enhancing food security.

While the Strategy for Agricultural Development in Georgia (2015-20) aims to eliminate rural poverty and improve food security through sustainable agricultural, more food could be made available for consumption by reducing food losses and waste.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Office for Europe and Central Asia is supporting the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia in formulating a National Strategic Programme on Food Loss and Waste Reduction in line with existing relevant national strategies for the agricultural sector.

Further to assessing the extent and causes of food loss and waste in Georgia, FAO analysed the existing legal framework and provided targeted recommendations that include, in particular, introducing a simple and fast administrative procedure for the donation of surplus food and making amendments to legislation - one of the key barriers to developing food redistribution system in the country. The recommended regulatory changes – exempting food business operators from VAT on donations of food surpluses and revising existing food safety rules to facilitate the redistribution of food, based on EU best practices and guidelines.

Additionally, in view of the limited capacity and infrastructure to receive and distribute surplus food, FAO advocated for establishing a food bank and for that reason organized a visit of the European Federation of Food Banks to Georgia to present food-banking models and explore potential for collaboration.

Based on the FAO’s recommendations, the inter-ministerial task force group is holding a series of discussions on the roles and duties of all involved institutions; an action plan will be developed to undertake the necessary steps to commence the establishment of the redistribution system.

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