Horticulture Sector Action Plan
Stop Food Waste Australia is leading a whole-of-sector approach to find and deliver food waste solutions within horticulture.
Based on input and collaboration from the horticulture sector, a Sector Action Plan will help prioritise actions and develop an effective plan. By working collaboratively on food waste, we will be able to:
- Reduce food loss and waste in horticulture (fresh produce currently comprises 50% of all food waste)
- Improve crop utilisation, profitability and supply chain resilience
- Reduce environmental impact
- Increase opportunities for food donation
- Convert unused product and surplus into value for growers
- Demonstrate leadership to consumers and the
broader community.
What will we do?
Stop Food Waste Australia will collaborate with key stakeholders across the horticulture supply chain to co-design a broad framework plan with separate ‘chapters’ for various horticultural commodities or regions.
For each chapter, complete quantification and root cause analysis for priority hotspots will be undertaken (using WRAP UK’s tried and tested Whole Chain Food Waste Reduction Plan Toolkit).
We will support co-designed solutions will address hotspots and root causes to create an action plan; applying international best practice, emerging technologies, and solutions from comparable industries.
A sector-wide approach means the implementation of these solutions can be shared and applied across the horticulture supply chain.
Commodity Action Plans – Melons and Bananas
The Melon and Banana Industries were chosen for the Commodity Action Plans and have their own reference groups that include small, medium and large growers, family farms and corporate farms, from a spread of regions, along with wholesalers, packing houses and processors.
Key outcomes:
- Horticulture businesses across the supply chain are informed and able to undertake cost effective food loss and waste reduction measures.
- Improved management of food loss and waste in fresh produce reflects the food recovery hierarchy and contributes to organic waste reduction in line with states’ and business’ objectives.
- Project insights enable the donation of additional fresh produce to the food rescue sector.
- Creation of new food ingredients from horticultural surplus deliver new income to growers and new value through healthy food ingredients to the food industry.
What will we do?
Stop Food Waste Australia will collaborate with key stakeholders across the horticulture supply chain to co-design a broad framework plan with separate ‘chapters’ for various horticultural commodities or regions.
For each chapter, complete quantification and root cause analysis for priority hotspots will be undertaken (using WRAP UK’s tried and tested Whole Chain Food Waste Reduction Plan Toolkit).
We will support co-designed solutions will address hotspots and root causes to create an action plan; applying international best practice, emerging technologies, and solutions from comparable industries.
A sector-wide approach means the implementation of these solutions can be shared and applied across the horticulture supply chain.
Commodity Action Plans – Melons and Bananas
The Melon and Banana Industries were chosen for the Commodity Action Plans and have their own reference groups that include small, medium and large growers, family farms and corporate farms, from a spread of regions, along with wholesalers, packing houses and processors.
Supported by:
Project partners:
Informing our work:
Research team:
CQUniversity was appointed as Research Provider, supported by Fight Food Waste CRC Transform.
Dr Delwar Akbar is leading the multidisciplinary team of researchers with expertise ranging from horticulture to supply chains to regional planning.
The team has commenced literature reviews, global scanning of best practice, a national account of waste and current practice.
Project Advisory Group:
The Nationwide framework plan has a Project Advisory Group with representation that spans the breadth of the Horticulture Supply Chain; from farm to retail as shown in the partners list above.
Engagement & consultation:
- May, 2022: Ag Roundtable
- June, 2022: Working Together to Reduce Food Loss and Waste in Horticulture event at Hort Connections.
- July, 2022: SFWA Partnership Advisory Group
- September, 2022: Project Advisory Group convenes
- October 2022 – Second Ag Roundtable on Food Waste with all state and territory Ag departments
- October 2022 –TropAg Panel: Bringing a Supply Chain together to reduce food waste
- October 2022 –Hort SAP Project Advisory Group Initiation meeting
- November 2022 – National Food Waste Summit
- February 2023 – Hort SAP Project Advisory Group (PAG) workshop 1 ; Hot Spot identification.
- February 2023 – Banana Industry Reference Panel, Workshop 1 Hotspots and Root Causes.
- March 2023 – Hort SAP PAG Workshop 2, ‘Root Cause Analysis.
- March 2023 – Banana Industry Reference Panel, Workshop 2 Solutions Identification.
- March 2023 – ABARES Outlook 2023 conference – Horticulture panel.
- March 2023 – IFPA/EY State of the industry Workshop
- April 2023 – Hort SAP PAG Workshop 3, ‘Solutions Identification’.
- April 2023 – Melon Industry Reference Panel, Workshop 1 Hotspots and Root Causes.
- April 2023 – IFPA Webinar
- April 2023 – NFF Horticulture Council
- May 2022 – Melon Industry Reference Panel, Workshop 2 Solutions Identification.
Insights and data:
- Fight Food Waste CRC project Designing effective interventions to reduce household food waste and a deep dive analysis of the data from this project specific to fresh produce wasted in Australian homes, undertaken by the analytics team at WRAP in the UK.
- FIAL’s National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study, including the revised National Food Waste Baseline.
- CSIRO’s research report into pre-retail Australian fruit and vegetable losses.
- The Fruit and Vegetable Consortium (established by AUSVEG and Nutrition Australia and co-funded by Stop Food Waste Australia) research into how to increase vegetable consumption in Australian homes and support growers by driving new demand.
- Agrifutures/RMCG pre-farm gate Waste Program
- ABARES on-farm waste survey questions
- WRAP UK – Fresh Produce Waste Reduction research including: Tackling on-farm food waste key to increasing profits by a fifth
- Inaugural State Primary Industries Departments Roundtable – May 2022
- From surplus-to-waste: A study of systemic overproduction, surplus and food waste in horticulture supply chain. Messner, R, Johnson, H, & Richards, C.
- Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) Industry Resources
- The role of packaging for Australian fresh produce full report and industry summary.
- Consumer research: relationship between packaging, food waste and recycling in the home.
How to get involved?
As we continue work on the Horticulture Sector Action Plan, we invite collaboration from industry. If you would like to know more about sponsoring a commodity or more information about the progress of the Plan, please contact our team.
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