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Despite an abundance of food when production conditions are favourable, the intermittent supply of power and poor storage facilities often mean that staple foods such as vegetables and fruit are lost after being harvested. Two African entrepreneurs are working to curb this waste.
About 815 million people do not have enough food to lead a healthy, active life, and nearly 25 percent of people in developing countries are undernourished, according to the World Food Programme. To put it into even better perspective, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the world produces enough food waste (about 1.4 billion tonnes) to feed as many as 2 billion people each year. This is roughly one-third of the global food supply.
Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and the executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said, "In a world of 7 billion people, set to grow to 9 billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense -- economically, environmentally and ethically."
Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production down to final household consumption, according to the UN.
"Up to one third of all...