FAO Azerbaijan Workshop on Gender and Food Loss and Waste

Without this strive it is impossible to improve nutrition, agricultural productivity, natural resource management, rural livelihoods and food security.  FAO’s project “Reduction of Food Loss and Waste in the SEC Countries” funded by FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme successfully implemented in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, aims at contributing to the reduction of food loss and waste.  Approximately one out of every four calories of food grown to feed people is not ultimately consumed by humans (WRI, 2013). All types of food are lost and wasted to a varying extent across the globe and across all stages of the food value chain. Food losses negatively affect food security and nutrition while significantly contributing to increased environmental and economic costs of food production, whereas gender relations have an impact on the overall efficiency of the food value chain and consequently on food losses

Considering the above, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and the FAO Liaison Office in Azerbaijan held a two-day online workshop to raise awareness of on gender equality principles in food loss and waste (FLW) and strengthen national counterparts’ knowledge related to integrating gender concerns into FLW interventions. s. 

The main purpose of the workshop was to raise awareness of the concepts of gender equality, Azerbaijan's national and FAO's commitments and present the current situation of rural women in the country. Despite their important role in food value chains in Azerbaijan, rural women often face specific constraints in accessing essential productive resources, services and information, and in participating in decision-making. These constraints affect their ability to fully contribute to and benefit from food loss reduction

24  (17 women and 7 men) participants attended the Workshop, representing public institutions, international organizations, private sector and CSOs working in the field of food value chains and food waste in Azerbaijan, including representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, Independent Consumers Union (ICU), Women's Entrepreneurship Development Association, Packaging Association of Azerbaijan, Food Safety Agency, Agrarian Research Center, GIZ, USAID and FAO Project Staff.

The gender experts, prior to the Workshop has identified the needs of the trainees and developed the methodology that consisted of theoretical and practical parts. The basics of gender equality, the gender issues in food loss and waste and application of these concepts into the work of the practitioners were introduced. The lively discussions mostly covered the area of field examples and gender relations as a primary component of the social and economic context, which shapes the functioning of the value chains at all levels.  A case of the dairy value chain was provided by participants, where a considerable amount of milk losses occurs at handling, storage, and collection.  Due to spillage and spoilage, the milk was rejected by companies because of poor quality. A gender-sensitive analysis applied revealed that it is mainly women producers who are experiencing losses due to the use of inappropriate equipment, lack of knowledge of quality standards, and their inability to reach a formal market in a timely manner (direct causes). In addition, cultural norms and the domestic workload limit women’s access to technologies and information, and their active participation in producer organizations.

“Addressing the gender and in particular women’s issues systematically are essential components of FAO’s effort to reduce food loss. We are delighted, that our solutions, in addition to the field and policy work, include capacity interventions”-, said Kaan Basaran, FAO Azerbaijan International Programme Specialist. “We hope to continue these efforts as part of the global mandate of eradicating hunger and attaining  food security”.

The training was held within the framework of the “Reduction of Food Loss and Waste in the SEC Countries” project funded by FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme, GCP/SEC/015/TUR “ and aims at contributing to the reduction of food loss and waste (FLW) in the context of national food systems and climate change. The project is being implemented in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uz-bekistan, including Azerbaijan and aims to collaborate with and benefit from external international institutions, providing technical advice and knowledge in FLW measurement and accounting, FLW reduction methodologies, awareness raising and information dissemination.