Report: 40% of food in Kenya going to waste as 15 million go hungry

A visit to the bustling Wakulima, Kangemi and Gikomba  markets in Nairobi shows a sight too familiar.

Every morning, trucks unload heaps of fresh mangoes, bananas, potatoes, only for most of them to end up unsold in the evening.

This is even as thousands of families go to bed hungry, while others can only afford a meal a day. This is the irony of Kenya’s food system.

A new report by the World Resources Institute Africa says the country loses up to 40 per cent of the food it produces every year.

This is about 9 million tonnes worth an estimated Sh72 billion. Yet, 15 million Kenyans (about 28 per cent of the population) face food insecurity, and are struggling daily to find enough to eat, according to UN reports.

The WRI report says the amount of food wasted could fill nearly 500 million 18-tonne trucks.

It paints a worrying picture of losses in staple foods and high-value crops.

It says maize, Kenya’s most important staple, loses between 20 and 36 per cent before it reaches consumers. Potatoes, the second most important crop, record 23 per cent losses.

“Fresh fruits suffer the worst fate, up to 56 per cent of mangoes, 15–35 per cent of avocados and 7–11 per cent of bananas never make it to the plate, while fish, a key source of protein, records 34 per cent loss,” the report says.

“Such levels of waste not only undermine farmer incomes but also threaten national food security and waste precious resources such as water, land and energy.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 15 million people are food insecure, while Unicef reports that one in four children under five is stunted, a clear sign of chronic malnutrition.

In 2021, about 39 per cent of Kenyans could not afford a healthy diet. At the same time, a Unep Food Waste Index Report revealed that every Kenyan throws away an average of 99kg of food annually, adding up to 5.2 million tonnes wasted nationally.

“Thirty to 40 per cent of food is being lost or wasted between production and consumption. These losses deprive farmers of income, worsen food insecurity and contribute to climate change,” WRI Africa managing director Wanjira Mathai said.

“Tackling food loss and waste presents a triple-win, feeding more people without increasing production, strengthening farmer incomes and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Kenya is a signatory to the 2014 Malabo Declaration, which calls for African Union member states to cut post-harvest losses by 50 per cent by the end of the year. It has also pledged under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 to halve food waste and reduce food losses by 2030.

Yet, despite these commitments, the WRI report warns that Kenya is falling short.

“Weak monitoring systems, lack of standardised measurement methods, limited financing and poor coordination across agencies have left the country unable to track progress or design effective interventions,” the report says.

“Without reliable data, it is impossible to set meaningful targets, design effective interventions or accurately track progress.”

The report indicates that the reasons behind the staggering losses are complex and vary across crops and regions.

For maize, poor storage is the main culprit, accounting for up to 70 per cent of total losses. The report says farmers often harvest maize too early, with high moisture content, making it susceptible to mould, insect infestation and aflatoxin contamination.

“Limited access to drying equipment and proper storage facilities compounds the problem,” report says.

It further indicates that potatoes are lost mainly due to poor harvesting techniques and rough handling during transport.

Often, farmers dig them up using tools that bruise the tubers, while traders pile them into sacks that cause more damage before they reach the market, report says.

In the fruit sector, the reports says perishability is the biggest challenge. Mangoes and bananas, for example, often spoil quickly when stored or transported under poor conditions. For domestic markets, mango losses reach up to 35 per cent, compared to 18 per cent in export markets where stricter handling and cold storage systems are used.

“For fish, inadequate preservation facilities, unreliable cold storage and long transport distances mean that nearly a third of the catch goes to waste before reaching consumers,” the report says.

Beyond hunger, the report says the economic toll is severe. It says Kenya loses Sh72 billion every year to food loss and waste.

This is equivalent to nearly half the Ministry of Agriculture’s annual budget.

The authors say with more than 70 per cent of Kenyans depending on agriculture for their livelihoods, these losses directly affect smallholder farmers who are already vulnerable to fluctuating prices, droughts and pests.

Food loss, they say, also worsens climate change. “When food is wasted, the resources used to produce it, land, water, energy are wasted too. Decomposing food in landfills produce methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide,” the report says.

The WRI report calls for urgent action across the food value chain. It recommends adoption of the target–measure–act strategy which sets clear reduction targets, measure food loss and waste accurately, and implement evidence-based interventions.

Other practical recommended solutions include investing in affordable storage, drying, and transport infrastructure, training farmers on harvesting and post-harvest handling techniques, and creating policies that encourage surplus food donations to food banks.

In addition to embedding food loss and waste reduction into climate policies and Nationally Determined Contributions and supporting consumer campaigns to raise awareness about household food waste.

The authors point out that reducing food loss and waste is not just a government responsibility, adding that agribusinesses, researchers, civil society, and consumers must all play a part.

“This report provides insights into the extent of food loss and waste across key value chains, identifies critical loss points and root causes, highlights possible interventions and examines policy gaps,” Susan Chomba, director of vital landscapes for Africa at WRI said.

“To scale up reduction efforts, Kenya needs coordinated action from public and private sector actors.”

The authors said for a country where millions still face hunger every day, reducing food loss and waste could be a game-changer. “By saving what is already produced, Kenya can take a significant step towards ensuring no citizen goes to bed hungry,” they said.

The report was done through a collaborative effort between WRI Africa, the Food and Land Use Coalition, Kenya and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Authors include Robert Mbeche, director food programme, WRI Africa, Josiah Ateka a lecturer of agricultural and environmental economics at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Forah Obebo, a lecturer of economics in the department of applied economics, Kenyatta University, James Wangu, of WRI Africa and Susan Chomba also of WRI Africa.

Infographic: Kenya’s food loss crisis                                                                       

9 million tons – food lost annually

Sh72 billion – annual economic cost of food loss

500 million – 18-ton trucks needed to carry the wasted food

15 million Kenyans – food insecure (28% of population)

Losses by value chain:

Maize: 20–36%

Potatoes: 23%

Mango: up to 56%

Avocado: 15–35%

Banana: 7–11%

Fish: 34%