Better Food Cold Chain Crucial For Climate, World Hunger: UN
Better Food Cold Chain Crucial For Climate – SHARM EL SHEIKH: Improving the cold chain in food production and distribution in developing countries is “vital” in the fight against climate change and world hunger, a UN report said on Saturday.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme, more efficient refrigeration will prevent food waste and increase the income of small farmers.
“Most developing countries do not have refrigeration facilities, especially in rural areas,” said Zitouni Ould-Dada, FAO Deputy Director.
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Improving the cold chain for food has “huge potential,” he told AFP at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
According to the joint report, “developing countries could save 144 million tons of food per year if they could achieve the same level of food cold chain as developed countries.”
The report states that more than 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, and about 14% of all food is lost before it reaches the consumer, citing the lack of an effective cold chain as the main reason.
According to the report, limiting food loss will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing strong methane emissions from the agricultural sector, which warms the planet.
In 2017, emissions linked to the lack of cooling amounted to one gigatonne of CO2, according to a UN report, about 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions that year.
The report emphasizes that “positive” climate outcomes depend on ensuring that any new infrastructure is energy efficient and powered by renewable energy sources.
Better refrigeration “benefits not only the environment but also farmers’ incomes,” Old-Dad said, allowing them to store food longer before using it or selling it.
The authors of the report cite several successful examples of improving the cold chain.
For example, the ColdHubs initiative in Nigeria created 54 solar-powered cold stores for farmers and retailers, saving more than 42,000 tons of food in 2020.