[[Image:food loss.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Source: [httphttps://www.agronigeria.com.ng/2014/10/31/international-food-agencies-unite-tackle-global-food-loss-launch-digital-platform/ agronigeria.com.ng]]]
Addressing food loss and waste, requires looking at the whole food system. There are many different actors in the value chain that each play their roll in food loss and waste, which makes the reduction of food loss and waste a shared responsibility.
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|Women in many poor countries grow and process perishable crops and play therefore a key role in reducing food losses at the production, post-harvest and processing stages. Women face however many barriers, such as the lack of knowledge, access to tools or exclusion from producer organizations. More information can be found on [http://m.scidev.net/global/gender/analysis-blog/focus-on-gender-women-can-help-lower-food-losses.html SciDevNet] and a practical toolkit on how to integrate a gender perspective in agricultural value chains, can be found here: [httphttps://genderinvaluechains.ningagriprofocus.com/page/toolkit intro AgriProFocus].
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|'''Poor management of temperature and a lack of cooling systems''', can cause huge post-harvest loss, especially in hot climates. Keeping products at their lowest safe temperature will increase storage life by lowering respiration rate, decreasing sensitivity to ethylene gas and reducing water loss (not too cool).
|'''Temperature and relative humidity control''': A variety of simple cooling methods exist where electricity is unavailable or too expensive, such as night air ventilation, underground or high altitude storage, use of shade, cool water, ice, on-farm cool storage, CoolBot TM cold room, and evaporative cooling devices such as "Zero Energy Cooling Chambers (ZECCs)", clay pot coolers, and “Zeer pots". Both the private and public sector should invest in storage and cold chain facilities.
''See [[Addressing Food Loss and Waste - Examples]] for examples''.
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* FAO, 2011-b [http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3684e.pdf Appropriate food packaging solutions for developing countries]
* Global Knowledge Initiative, 2010. [http://postharvest.org/Rockefeller%20Foundation%20Food%20Waste%20and%20Spoilage%20initiative%20Resource%20Assessment_GKI.pdf Reduce Global Food Waste and Spoilage. A Rockefeller Foundation Initiative. Assessing resources needed and available for reduce post-harvest food loss in Africa.]
* Kitinoja and Kader, 20022015. [httphttps://passthroughucanr.fw-notify.netedu/sites/staticPostharvest_Technology_Center_/240208files/downloader231952.html pdf Small-Scale Postharvest Handling Practices: A manual Manual for Horticultural Crops’ Fourth Crops (5th Edition). University of California, DavidDavis. Postharvest Technology Research and Information Centre.]
* SciDevNet, 2013 [http://m.scidev.net/global/gender/analysis-blog/focus-on-gender-women-can-help-lower-food-losses.html Focus on Gender: Women can help lower food losses], Blog: H. Miers, 2013
* Movie: FAO: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uf5SJcFlco Fishing women used improve post-harvest fishery technologies to reduce losses, increase income and household food security]
* CFS, HLPE repor 8, 2014. [http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3901e.pdf Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems].
* Eric Verploegen, Peter Rinker and Kukom Edoh Ognakossan. [http://d-lab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/Evaporative%20Cooling%20Best%20Practices%20Guide.pdf Evaporative Cooling Best Practices, Producing and using evaporative cooling chambers and clay pot coolers]. June 2018.
* Eric Verploegen, Ousmane Sanogo and Takemore Chagomoka. [http://d-lab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/Evaporative%20Cooling%20Technologies%20for%20Improved%20Vegetable%20Storage%20in%20Mali%20-%20Appendix.pdf Evaporative Cooling Technologies for Improved Vegetable Storage in Mali]. June 2018.
