The 10x20kx30 initiative brings together 10 major farmgate-facing agriculture companies, with each engaging 20,000 (20k) of their supplying farmers to follow the “Target-Measure-Act” approach to reduce on-farm food losses by 50% by 2030.
Why Now?
An astounding 1/3 of food is lost or wasted between the farm and fork. This number has huge economic, social, and environmental consequences. It robs farmers of much-needed income and drains households of hard-earned wages. In a world where one in nine people goes to bed hungry, this waste is a travesty.
Food loss and waste also consumes ¼ of all water used by agriculture, requires land area the size of China to be grown (but then not eaten), and annually emits 8% of global greenhouse gasses. On top of this, food prices across the globe are hitting record highs. Grain production has declined and supply chains are being disrupted in some grain belts due to climate change and political conflict.
Taking Action
Given this context, Champions 12.3 aspires to dramatically reduce food losses on farms by leveraging the reach and know-how of agricultural companies. Via our new “10 x 20k x 30” initiative, 10 major farmgate-facing agriculture companies will each engage at least 20,000 (20k) of their supplying farmers to follow the “Target-Measure-Act” approach to reducing food losses by 50% by 2030.
Farmgate-facing agriculture companies have a fortuitous ability to engage farmers via outgrower programs that deliver farmer training, capacity-building, finance, and access to technology (e.g., processing, storage) and markets. In developing countries in particular, farmgate-facing companies can play a critical role as farmer aggregators—delivering training, tools, services, and inputs en masse to otherwise hard-to-reach farmers.
Supported by the companies, farmers (the cohorts of “20k”) will reduce farm-related losses via improved practices, innovations, and technologies applied during harvest and post-harvest. Companies and initiative stakeholders such as agriculture entities and financial institutions can provide the needed know-how, technical assistance, and financial support to adopt and scale the solutions.
The Companies
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Contact
To learn more about 10x20kx30, please contact Mark Little at mark.little@wri.org.