FAO Food Loss App (FLAPP) is a pioneering digital solution designed to help farmers, companies, producer associations, and cooperatives make informed decisions to reduce food losses. Through video advisories and advanced data visualization, FLAPP measures, identifies and analyzes the causes of food losses—from pests and diseases to inadequate packaging—across various stages, from harvest to wholesale markets. By leveraging crowd-sourced data from farmers, FLAPP enhances FAO's ability to analyze food losses directly from the farm level. Currently operational in 36 countries covering 13 commodities, FLAPP's adaptive content expands with its user base aiming to cater more precisely to local needs and fill knowledge gaps. Its primary goal is to inform targeted policies and spur both private and public investments, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3. which aims to reduce food loss and halve global food waste by 2030. By facilitating informed decision-making among farmers and businesses, FLAPP promotes sustainability through three key impacts: increasing the availability of high-value products, using natural resources more efficiently, and reducing emissions. These efforts reduce resource waste and environmental impact across the agricultural sector, marking a significant step forward in the global effort against food loss.
https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/fao-flapp?=updated-today/en
Ongoing
September 2023
Not set
The FLAPP is designed to be highly replicable, with the flexibility to adapt to various countries and commodities as its user base expands. As more information is provided on the specific attributes of their commodities in their respective regions, the app will become more tailored to local needs. FLAPP features two account types: one for producers and another for institutional users. This structure allows users worldwide to access information that best meets their needs. Producers can input their data to receive automated loss results and tailored solutions, while institutional users—such as researchers, survey takers, and companies working with farmers—can also benefit from the app's insights. Given its customizable nature, FLAPP’s benefits can be replicated in any location around the world. Whether in different countries (36 at the moment), or sectors, FLAPP offers scalable and adaptable solutions to reduce food loss, making it a powerful tool for global impact.
The FAO Food Loss App (FLAPP) is designed to be a sustainable tool by promoting long-term action to measure, report, and reduce food losses. Through crowdsourcing data and providing real-time advice at the micro level, FLAPP enables continuous monitoring and timely interventions. This sustainability is supported by its capacity to engage local communities and farmers, generating actionable insights that help reduce food losses at the source. By empowering policymakers to target interventions more effectively and focusing resources on areas with the greatest potential impact, FLAPP fosters efficient use of resources and supports the long-term goal of reducing food loss across the value chain. Additionally, the app's adaptability and potential for expansion ensure it remains relevant and scalable. It is specifically designed to keep expanding the number of countries, commodities and its quality attributes in a sustainable manner by crowdsourcing information from users about the specific characteristics of the latter, further contributing to sustainable agrifood systems.
WSIS values serve as global guiding principles for shaping an inclusive, equitable & sustainable information society where ICTs are harnessed to improve the quality of life for people globally. Aligning with these, FLAPP promotes inclusive sustainable development through relevant use of ICTs for targeted action & impact addressing the digital divide. WSIS values are anchored in universal access to knowledge, promoting ICTs affordable equitable access, regardless of geographic, economic or social barriers. FLAPP aligns with these, through enhanced accessibility, direct, with no use cost, by many stakeholders. FLAPP promotes WSIS values of free access to information, inclusivity & no discrimination, fostering inclusive participation in the information society. FLAPP promotes WSIS values of human rights, fundamental freedoms of the Information Society, ensuring ICTs are used consistently with ethical values, social justice & environmental sustainability. It ensures ICT development with universal rights standards including privacy: data is anonymized to ensure confidentiality & personal information collected to verify users authenticity consists of basic information gathered during data collection processes. FLAPP considers cultural & linguistic diversity, accessible in English/Spanish. Additional local languages will be introduced for inclusive coverage. FLAPP leverages capacity building, empowering individuals and communities by improving digital literacy/skills, providing insights into losses at producer level. FLAPP encourages international multistakeholder cooperation, with commodity specialists, local experts & value chain actors to define quality attributes, benefitting producers/institutional users. Promoting food loss reduction, FLAPP paves the way towards Sustainable Development, leveraging ICTs for SDG achievement, improving food security & nutrition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering pressure on water/land resources, contributing to increased productivity & economic growth.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Italy — International Organization
www.fao.org
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ITU, Place des Nations, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
