Reducing food loss requires strong partnerships

Marcel Vernooij works at IDH, a global organization focused on making agricultural markets more sustainable and inclusive. After a long career in the Dutch government, he now collaborates with public and private sector partners in the Netherlands and abroad. Vernooij: ‘IDH addresses environmental themes like climate, adaptation, and biodiversity, alongside social issues such as living wages and decent jobs. Through partnerships with companies, NGOs, governments, and researchers, it runs programs in sectors such as coffee, cocoa, and palm oil.’

Ibrahim Palaz has worked at the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP) since 2018. ‘NFP focuses on improving food systems in low- and middle-income countries,’ he says. ‘We bring together businesses, governments, knowledge institutions and civil society organizations to work on shared food-related challenges. Rather than implementing projects on its own, NFP mainly helps partners connect, develop joint agendas, and build collaborations.’

Lack of food security persists

According to Vernooij, food loss is closely connected to food security and is an ethical issue. ‘Many of us are deeply motivated to solve a very old and continuing problem: hunger and the lack of food security in the world. The development agenda has achieved a great deal: better education and greater prosperity. But the number of people facing hunger is stuck at around 800 million.’

Palaz points to a persistent reflex: as soon as food shortages are discussed, the focus quickly shifts to producing more. ‘While at the same time roughly 25% to 33% of the food produced is lost. You wouldn’t accept that in any other sector. If an oil company said that one-third of its oil leaked out of the pipeline, no one would respond by saying: let’s just pump more oil. Yet, for a long time, that was accepted in the food system.’

Food loss is financial loss

Both agree that the issue of food loss is more than ethics alone. Vernooij: ‘The moral argument is obvious: food is being lost while people are hungry. But there is also a clear economic case. Food loss is simply a financial loss. And food production has a major impact on land, water, and ecosystems. From an environmental perspective, reducing food loss therefore makes perfect sense.’

Palaz agrees that the economic logic is compelling. ‘In many cases you can clearly demonstrate the financial benefits of better logistics or improved storage.’ Precisely because the business case is so clear, he says, reducing food loss can be an effective way to drive broader improvements in food systems. Palaz adds: ‘It not only increases food availability, but can also lower emissions, reduce pressure on land and water resources, and raise incomes for farmers and other actors in the supply chain.’

Adaptability to local circumstances is crucial

Yet, Vernooij notes that a convincing business case does not automatically lead to change. He recalls a visit to a tomato transfer point in India that had been built with Japanese support: ‘Technically, it was perfect: a covered market hall with cold storage facilities. But it simply wasn’t used. Trucks were unloaded along the roadside, tomatoes were transferred into crates, and those crates were left in the sun while people went to lunch. There was enormous food loss at that point in the chain.’

The reason, he explains, lays in the incentives. Vernooij says: ‘For example, workers were paid per crate they handled, not per tomato that arrived intact at the next stage of the chain. If the process became more efficient, fewer trucks and fewer workers would be needed. Those are exactly the kinds of incentives that can keep inefficiency in place.’

Palaz agrees that adaptability is essential: ‘You can never design a system perfectly. What matters is recognizing when something does not work and adjusting your approach. That means paying close attention to the local context and to incentives in the system.’

He adds that successful interventions require investment in people. ‘Training, skills development, and operational knowledge are crucial in logistics chains. Even relatively small mistakes – such as incorrect storage temperatures during transport – can have major consequences for product quality and losses further down the chain.’

Starting from business demand

A notable feature of the ​current ​initiative is that the exploration started in the Netherlands. Instead of beginning with a specific country program, NFP first mapped the international ambitions of Dutch companies. Palaz says: ‘We looked at where interest exists among Dutch companies to operate internationally. Once you know that, you can then identify which countries have the greatest demand.’ 

According to Vernooij, this approach reflects how companies themselves assess new markets. ‘If you approach companies with a specific country program, they may say they had other markets in mind. But if you start by identifying markets that companies already find interesting, you can combine initiatives and make investment more likely.’

In many countries, meanwhile, the demand for improved logistics is already clear. ‘In Kenya or Ethiopia, for example, the question is not whether there is demand for better logistics,’ Palaz says. ‘The real questions are which solutions fit the system, and where Dutch skills, expertise and technologies can be connected to local organizations in equal partnerships.’

How the Netherlands Agricultural Network contributes

In that process, agricultural counselors and their teams play an important role. Vernooij: ‘Because they closely follow local agricultural systems, they can help translate ideas into practical cooperation.’ Palaz adds: ‘They often play an important role in connecting Dutch actors with local governments, companies and knowledge institutions.​ Preparing the ground for collaboration.​’

From coordination to investment

At the same time, stronger coordination is needed within the Netherlands itself. Vernooij says: ‘Agrologistics cuts across several policy areas – including agriculture, trade, logistics and international cooperation – and therefore requires closer alignment between the different actors involved.’

In his view, that makes it important to create platforms where government, business, knowledge institutions and other stakeholders can meet, exchange ideas, and work towards shared priorities.

Palaz adds that such coordination is important but is only one part of the picture. ‘Addressing these challenges​ also​ requires investment from the private sector. In the end, however, the return on investment must be clear. Public support and partnerships can help bring actors together, but companies must ultimately see a viable business case if solutions are to be implemented and scaled.’

Both Palaz and Vernooij agree that successful partnerships ultimately depend on ownership and commitment from the actors involved. They must be willing to invest and take responsibility if initiatives are to move from exploration to large-scale implementation. The real test will be whether this combination of coordination, cooperation, and investment leads to concrete initiatives in the years ahead: partnerships that strengthen supply chains while helping to reduce food loss.

More information

For more information about initiatives to reduce food loss and strengthen partnerships in agrologistics and food ​systems​, you can​​​​ contact:

• Ibrahim Palaz (NFP) 
  E-mail: ipalaz@foodpartnership.com 

• LinkedIn: Netherlands Food Partnership 

• Marcel Vernooij (IDH) 
  E-mail: vernooij@idhtrade.org 

• LinkedIn: IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative