“Scale up efforts in Food Loss and Waste” is the new project launched by Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and FAO, with the support of Rikolto, aimed at helping Asia Pacific cities tackle Food Loss and Waste (FLW) through structured technical guidance, learning opportunities, and international cooperation. The initiative is part of the Community of Practice “Food Policy & Circular Food Solutions” under the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme, funded by the European Union.
Food Loss and Waste is one of the key priority for the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and FAO. During the 7th edition of the Milan Pact Awards, FAO was entrusted to judge the 60 practices submitted in the Food Waste category, strengthening the FLW agenda through peer-to-peer learning among cities committed to reducing food loss and waste.
The project will support cities in understanding where and how FLW occurs, identifying effective policy options, and testing concrete solutions. Participating cities will strengthen their capacity to plan, implement, and monitor local food policies through webinars, peer-learning, technical trainings, and pilot actions, with the ultimate goal of translating global commitments into local action while boosting city leadership in international cooperation frameworks.
To achieve this, the project combines several complementary activities. Cities will first complete an online survey to assess the status of FLW in their cities and identify key challenges. They will then take part in a series of five webinars running from March to October 2026, exploring the drivers of FLW, presenting best practices collected from the Milan Pact Awards 2025, and engaging in small-group discussions to design practical solutions. A four-day in-person training in Seberang Perai, Malaysia, will provide hands-on capacity building with the end goal of developing a project proposal that addresses locally identified challenges using the evidence and methodologies explored in the training. By the end of the project, cities are expected to have concrete pilot proposals ready for implementation.
Beyond tangible outputs, the initiative offers opportunities for South-South and triangular cooperation, allowing cities to learn from peers facing similar challenges, strengthen coordination among local actors, and improve food recovery, redistribution systems, and the efficient use of resources. This initiative represents a practical and collaborative step toward reducing food loss and waste, while reinforcing the role of cities as global leaders in sustainable food systems.
The project officially kicked off on 26 March 2026 with a first closed-door introductory webinar, which provided an overview of the project, including its objectives, scope, activities, and implementation timeline, and included a presentation of the online survey. Speakers included Filippo Gavazzeni (Director of the MUFPP), Nafis Kahan (FAO, Senior Programme Officer, South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division – PST), and Sandra Marin (IURC Programme Knowledge & Networking Coordinator).
