Daily Editorial Analysis 29 September 2026

Tackling Food Loss and Waste — India’s Opportunity

Context

• Food loss and waste are major global challenges with far-reaching consequences for food security, nutrition, climate change, natural resources and economic productivity.
• India produces enough food to feed its population of 1.4 billion, yet substantial quantities are lost across the agrifood value chain.
• Reducing these losses can generate a triple win: improving food security and nutrition, reducing environmental pressures and emissions, and enhancing incomes and productivity.
• The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on September 29 underlines the importance of addressing this issue.

India’s evidence base, a global first

• India has developed an important foundation for tackling food loss through three nationally representative post-harvest loss surveys, making it the only country to have conducted such a sustained exercise.
• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries conducted surveys during 2005-07, 2012-14 and 2020-22, covering an increasing number of commodities from farm to retail. A fourth survey is now under way.
• This evidence supports India’s reporting under the Food Loss Index of the Sustainable Development Goals and helps identify areas requiring intervention.
• However, significant data gaps remain. Existing assessments focus mainly on farm and supply-chain losses, while systematic information on food waste in households, retail, hotels and restaurants remains limited.
• Better data is essential for identifying loss hotspots, directing investment and measuring policy outcomes.

From Measurement to Action

• Better storage, drying, cooling, moisture management and processing can substantially reduce post-harvest losses.
• Digital technologies, particularly traceability systems, can improve the movement and management of food throughout supply chains.
• Food loss and waste should be integrated into agricultural planning, food-processing strategies, climate action and investment decisions.
• Financial resources must target technologies and infrastructure with high potential impact while ensuring that solutions remain affordable and accessible to small farmers, producer organisations and small businesses.
• A circular-economy approach can further enhance resource efficiency.
• Surplus edible food can be redistributed, while unavoidable organic residues can be converted into compost, biogas and energy, reducing environmental damage and creating additional economic value.

Wholesale markets, overlooked opportunity

• Assessments by the FAO and COSAMB indicate that major wholesale markets can generate up to 100 tonnes of organic waste per day.
• Nationally, this amounts to an estimated 5 million tonnes annually, while large quantities of urban organic waste end up in landfills.
• Treating this waste as a resource rather than a liability can reduce emissions and create economic opportunities.
• Its effective utilisation could potentially offset approximately 3 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually.
• A 50-tonne-per-day bio-CNG plant in Surat, Gujarat, demonstrates how market waste can be converted into useful energy.
• The project reportedly reduces methane-related emissions by approximately 7,500 tonnes annually.
• Such models should be adapted to local commodity mixes, infrastructure and market conditions.
• Municipalities and market committees can strengthen waste segregation, collection and treatment, while developing markets for compost, biogas and other recovered materials.

Investment and innovation

• India must move from isolated interventions towards a coordinated national approach with financing at its core.
• Partnerships involving the FAO and SIDBI can connect food-loss hotspots with climate-resilient technologies, including improved drying, moisture control, energy-efficient cooling and storage.
• Access to finance is especially important for small and medium enterprises, enabling them to adopt technologies that reduce losses and improve productivity.
• Urban areas also require systematic solutions.
• A practical Package of Practices for urban food-loss and waste management can enable municipalities to measure, prevent, reduce, redistribute and valorise waste across households, wholesale markets, retail and food-service establishments.

Key Challenges

• Despite significant progress, several challenges require attention:
  • Inadequate data on consumer-level and urban food waste.
  • Insufficient storage and cold-chain infrastructure.
  • Limited access to finance and modern technologies among small producers and enterprises.
  • Weak segregation and treatment of organic waste.
  • Fragmented interventions across agricultural, urban and climate policies.
  • Limited markets for compost, biogas and other recovered resources.
• Addressing these challenges requires coordinated action among governments, farmers, businesses, financial institutions, municipalities and research organisations.

The Way Forward

• India now has data, technology and viable models to substantially reduce food loss and waste. The way forward should focus on:
  • Closing data gaps across the entire food system.
  • Expanding storage, cooling, drying and processing infrastructure.
  • Providing affordable finance and technology to farmers and small businesses.
  • Strengthening digital traceability and supply-chain management.
  • Promoting food redistribution and circular-economy solutions.
  • Developing efficient systems for segregating and treating organic waste.
  • Integrating food-loss reduction into agricultural, food-processing, urban and climate policies.

Conclusion

• Food loss and waste should not be viewed merely as an agricultural or waste-management problem.
• They represent a broader challenge involving food security, environmental sustainability, climate action and economic efficiency.
• India has already established a strong evidence base and demonstrated that technological and circular solutions are viable.
• The priority now is to scale these initiatives through better data, targeted investment, modern infrastructure, accessible finance and coordinated policymaking.
• By transforming wasted food and organic residues into productive resources, India can strengthen food security, conserve natural resources, reduce emissions and build a more resilient, efficient and sustainable agrifood system.

Tackling Food Loss and Waste — India’s Opportunity FAQs

Q1. Why is food loss and waste a major concern for India?
Ans. It threatens food security, wastes natural resources, increases emissions, and reduces economic productivity.

Q2. How has India strengthened its evidence base on food loss?
Ans. India has conducted three nationally representative post-harvest loss surveys and is undertaking a fourth.

Q3. What are the key measures for reducing food loss?
Ans. Better storage, cooling, drying, moisture management, processing, and digital traceability can reduce food loss.

Q4. How can wholesale-market waste become a resource?
Ans. Organic waste can be converted into compost, biogas, and bio-CNG, reducing emissions and creating economic value.

Q5. What should India prioritise going forward?
Ans. India should close data gaps, expand investment, improve infrastructure, and integrate food-loss reduction into public policies.

Source: The Hindu

Revisiting the Farmer Question

Context

• India is no longer an agriculture-dominated economy, yet it remains deeply dependent on agriculture for employment and rural livelihoods.
• Agriculture contributes about 15–18% of GDP while supporting nearly 46% of the workforce, creating a structural imbalance between its economic contribution and employment dependence.
• Small holdings, water scarcity, climate change, rising input costs and weak market linkages continue to undermine farm incomes.
• The birth centenary of S. Swaminathan offers an opportunity to revisit the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) and adapt its vision to contemporary challenges.

The Structural Challenges of Indian Agriculture

• Small and Fragmented Landholdings

  • Around 86% of farmers own less than two hectares, limiting economies of scale, mechanisation, diversification and technological adoption.
  • Fragmented holdings also weaken farmers’ bargaining power in agricultural markets.

• Water Stress and Ecological Vulnerability

  • Nearly half of cultivated land remains dependent on unpredictable rainfall, increasing exposure to droughts and erratic monsoons.
  • Conversely, intensive irrigation has caused groundwater depletion in several regions.
  • Conflicts such as the Cauvery dispute demonstrate the growing competition for finite water resources.

• Climate Change and Rising Costs

  • Climate change is intensifying agricultural vulnerability through heat waves, floods, droughts and irregular rainfall.
  • Simultaneously, rising prices of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and fuel are squeezing already narrow farm margins.

• Weak Position in the Value Chain

  • Farmers often receive only a limited share of consumer prices because of inadequate storage, processing facilities, fragmented supply chains and multiple intermediaries.
  • Consequently, increased production does not automatically translate into higher farm incomes.

What the NCF Got Right

• Focus on Agricultural Distress

  • The NCF’s central insight was that agricultural distress is fundamentally an income and livelihood problem rather than merely a productivity problem.
  • Agricultural policy should therefore be assessed by improvements in farmers’ economic well-being rather than simply higher yields.
  • The Commission emphasised timely access to water, institutional credit, technology, livestock, fisheries and other productive resources.
  • Stronger links between research institutions and farmers were also necessary to ensure that innovation addressed practical agricultural needs.

• Ecological Sustainability

  • The NCF recognised that higher productivity cannot come at the expense of soil health, water security and natural-resource conservation.
  • Efficient irrigation and sustainable farming practices therefore need to form an integral part of agricultural policy.

• Strengthening Farmers’ Bargaining Power

  • The Commission advocated district-level agricultural infrastructure, direct marketing and improved storage, grading, packaging, processing and transportation.
  • These measures could increase farmers’ share in agricultural value chains.
  • Its vision extended beyond cultivation to livelihood security through agriculture, allied activities, rural enterprises and non-farm employment.
  • This approach also broadly converged with the economic thinking associated with Chaudhary Charan Singh, particularly the emphasis on small farmers, remunerative agriculture and rural purchasing power.

• From Production to Farmer Income

  • Several NCF recommendations have been incorporated into different schemes, but its integrated framework for farmer income, risk reduction, markets and sustainability remains incomplete.
  • Agricultural policy should therefore measure net farm income per household, alongside conventional productivity indicators.
  • A shift from an exclusively MSP-centric approach to comprehensive income-risk management is necessary.
  • MSP should be complemented by crop insurance, income support, irrigation, affordable credit, storage, processing and market linkages.

Agriculture and Global Markets

• India cannot permanently insulate agriculture from global markets, but small farmers should not be exposed to international competition without adequate safeguards.
• Free Trade Agreements can create export opportunities, while import competition and global price volatility can create risks.
• The appropriate approach is a combination of farmer aggregation, productivity enhancement, value addition, risk management, remunerative prices and carefully designed trade safeguards.
• Strong Farmer Producer Organisations and cooperatives can improve bargaining power and enable farmers to participate more effectively in domestic and international value chains.

The Way Forward: Updating the NCF Vision

• The agricultural landscape has changed significantly since the NCF’s recommendations, with climate stress, migration, technological transformation and expanding global value chains creating new challenges.
• The objective should not be to reproduce the NCF mechanically but to update its fundamental vision.
• Farmers need economic security, ecological sustainability and stronger market participation.
• Making the NCF a constitutional body could provide institutional continuity and encourage coordinated, long-term agricultural policymaking.

Conclusion

• India’s agricultural challenge is no longer simply to produce more food but to ensure secure incomes, sustainable livelihoods and dignified economic opportunities for farming communities.
• The NCF anticipated many of these concerns by placing farmer welfare at the centre of agricultural policy.
• An integrated farmer-income architecture linking production with water, technology, credit, insurance, infrastructure, processing and markets can transform Indian agriculture.
• Revisiting the NCF’s vision can help India move from an output-oriented agricultural system towards one centred on farmer prosperity, resilience and sustainable rural transformation.

Revisiting the Farmer Question FAQs

Q1. What is the central challenge facing Indian agriculture?
Ans. India faces the challenge of ensuring viable farm incomes despite agriculture’s high employment dependence.

Q2. What was the key focus of the NCF?
Ans. The NCF focused on farmer income and livelihood security, rather than production alone.

Q3. Why are small landholdings problematic?
Ans. Small landholdings restrict economies of scale, mechanisation, diversification and technological adoption.

Q4. How can farmer incomes be strengthened?
Ans. Farmer incomes can be strengthened through MSP, insurance, credit, irrigation, storage, processing and better market linkages.

Q5. Why should the NCF vision be revisited?
Ans. The NCF vision should be revisited to address climate change, technology, migration and global market integration.

Source: The Hindu

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