06 Jun 2013

Livelihoods can be improved if food producers reduce food losses through better harvesting, processing, storage, transport as well as marketing, Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama has said.

Officiating at the World Environment Day commemoration under the theme: Think, Eat, Save – Reduce Your Foodprint in Gaborone on June 4, Mr Tshekedi said food loss, which takes place at production, post-harvest production, distribution and consumption stages of the food supply chain is bothersome.

He explained that while food production takes place on one hand, abject poverty threatens lives on the other hand.

He said the imbalance creates environmental harm, land degradation and poverty.

He therefore called on people to change their consumption patterns for all to have a healthier and hunger-free world.

He said that would also reduce threat to the environment.

The minister explained that 95 per cent of food loss and waste in developing countries are unintentional and are due to financial, managerial and technical limitations in harvesting techniques.

Mr Khama said the statistics talks to people’s carefree attitude towards food and environment, adding that it is important to make all efforts to reverse them.

“It is necessary that we should all be able to identify the link between food waste and impact of the environment so that we are in a position to change our way of dealing with food at any stage of production”, he said.

He explained that World Environment Day commemoration provides a platform for all partners to remember that their collective strength in food production would translate into good environment performance.

For his part, United Nations Resident Commisioner, Mr Anders Pederson commended Botswana for her commitment to sustainable development, environment and fight in climate change.

“Botswana is leading on the continental base as well as beyond the continent and has been playing a leading role in different regards such as the sustainable development summit held last year in Brazil,” he said. He encouraged people to follow the theme by reducing not only the food consumed, but the amount of resources required to produce food.

Mr Pederson highlighted that most of the deaths among children are due to hunger and starvation and therefore called on all to reduce their foodprints.

Giving a vote of thanks, Member of Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said environment rehabilitation is critical for continuity in food production.

Mr Tsogwane, who is also Boteti North MP, called for participatory development in the protection of the environment.

He said sustainable food production should consider the negative impacts on the environment and consider minimising them.

June 5 is a day that has been set aside by the United Nations General Assembly to mark the opening of the 1972 Stockholm conference on the human environment.

Botswana has commemorated World Environment day every year since 1994.

The day has been set aside to reflect on the status and condition of the environment as well as to celebrate achievements made towards protecting the environment. ENDS