Reducing Food Loss and Waste: A Food Systems Perspective

Policy Seminar | IFPRI Policy Seminar Reducing Food Loss and Waste: A Food Systems Perspective Co-organized by IFPRI and the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, Cornell University January 13, 2026 Reducing food loss and waste is essential for building more efficient value chains, lowering the climate footprint of agri‑food systems, and improving farmer livelihoods. This seminar brings together new insights and emerging evidence on how to tackle this challenge from multiple angles. In the first segment, Jocelyn Boiteau and Prabhu Pingali will share key findings from their new book, Wasted Potential: Tackling Food Loss and Waste Across Transforming Food Systems. Their work takes a holistic view of where losses occur from production through consumption, and how smarter policies and investments can meaningfully reduce them. The book importantly also highlights the need for better metrics and approaches to understanding where and why losses occur. This book launch will be followed by presentations on new IFPRI research on innovative approaches to measuring and reducing food loss and waste in perishable foods. This includes research on the use of artificial intelligence to improve food loss measurement accuracy, reducing spoilage in meat supply chains, and other emerging tools for understanding and addressing losses in highly perishable products. The seminar will conclude with an open Q&A exploring promising directions for future research and practical, cost‑effective strategies to reduce food loss and waste at scale. Moderator & Opening Remarks Alan de Brauw, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Speakers Prabhu Pingali, Professor, Charles Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management, & Director, Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture & Nutrition, Cornell University Vivian Hoffmann, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Carolyne Maina, Program Director, Technoserve Assan Ng’ombe, Resilience Officer, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Closing Remarks Ruth Hill, Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions, IFPRI Download and read the book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-97411-3? More about this Event: https://www.ifpri.org/event/reducing-food-loss-and-waste-a-food-systems-perspective/ Subscribe IFPRI Insights newsletter and event announcements at www.ifpri.org/content/newsletter-subscription