Published by WRAP and IGD, the report shows growing adoption of the Target-Measure-Act approach to food waste prevention and that more than 60 businesses publicly report food surplus and waste data today, including 54 Tesco suppliers and international growers.
In addition, the latest comparable data shows around 180,000t of food (worth £300 million) has been saved from becoming waste by Roadmap members.
NFU Deputy President Stuart Roberts said: “As a supporter of the roadmap, we are delighted that so many organisations are joining the fight against food waste.
“Farmers do a fantastic job producing food which is safe, traceable and affordable and growers work extremely hard to ensure there is as little waste as possible at farm level; that simply makes good business sense.
“The farming sector has already taken steps to do more from improving agronomic and breeding techniques, to investing in new and innovative harvesting and processing technologies.
"At times, the ‘outgrade’ or spoiled crops don’t meet the stringent specifications set by retailers and so farmers have found other markets for these crops to avoid waste and support efforts to tackle climate change, such as feeding anaerobic digesters to create green energy.
“The NFU has joined major British retailers and food companies in signing the Government’s ‘Step up to the Plate’ initiative which pledges to halve food waste by 2030. We need to see everyone in the supply chain pulling together to ensure this happens and develop strategies to help keep waste to a minimum whilst supporting the agriculture sector as it strives to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.”
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