Iowa State University
IN-26: Innovation C

Optimizing food production practices is critical for ensuring that farmers are profitable, food is plentiful and accessible, and the environment is preserved. This is the vision of the Consortium for Innovation in Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste Reduction, a collaborative effort between the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and The Rockefeller Foundation headquartered at Iowa State University. Food loss and waste is a global problem that negatively impacts the bottom line of businesses and farmers, wastes limited resources and damages the environment. Due to the volume of food that is moved globally, food loss and waste affects producers, manufacturers, distributors, and end-users. More than 40% of fruits and vegetables in developing regions spoil before they can be consumed. This loss negatively impacts the bottom line for farmers, who are not compensated for their lost products. Additionally, producing food that is thrown out by consumers due to quality issues creates a significant drain on environmental resources. The Consortium builds the academic and entrepreneurial capacity of the next generation of agriculture by engaging researchers and students in multi-national, multi-disciplinary teams in the project identification, planning, and execution phases together with professionals from the private and public sectors. Building from The Rockefeller Foundation’s Yieldwise Initiative, the Consortium focuses on collaborative efforts to offer a scalable approach to link crop supply to market demand, allowing farmers to gain more value from their crops and become more profitable, while also stimulating local economic growth and improving the resiliency of rural communities. The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research has contributed $2.78 million for this three-year project, which partner organizations from around the world have matched for a $5.56 million project budget. Participating institutions include The Rockefeller Foundation, Iowa State University, ; University of Maryland, Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands; Zamorano University, Honduras; University of São Paulo, Brazil; Stellenbosch University, South Africa; University of Nairobi, Kenya; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; and the Volcani Center, Israel.