In Kenya, approximately 15 million people—28 percent of the population—face food insecurity. Yet, 30–40 percent of food is lost or wasted between production and consumption.

These losses have significant economic, social, and environmental impacts, depriving farmers of income, increasing household financial strain, worsening food insecurity, and contributing to climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As such, tackling food loss and waste presents a triple-win opportunity: feeding more people without increasing production, enhancing livelihoods by strengthening value chains and cutting costs, and reducing environmental impacts, including lowering GHG emissions.

Despite these clear benefits, many farmers, businesses, and government entities struggle with limited capacity to accurately measure, analyze, and report food loss and waste.

This challenge makes it difficult to not only justify investments but also track progress toward reduction goals. Furthermore, weak policy coordination and implementation hinder effective action, with existing government strategies often lacking targeted incentives to drive reduction.

This report urges agribusinesses, governments, research institutions, and other value chain stakeholders to adopt the “Target-Measure-Act” approach to reduce food loss and waste by half by 2030. It is a proven strategy that works because:

  1. setting clear targets fosters ambition, which drives action,
  2. measuring FLW enables better management,
  3. impactful change is achieved through concrete action.

It 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.

Summary

Food loss and waste in Kenya exacerbate food insecurity— currently affecting more than 15 million people — lead to economic losses of an estimated KES 72 billion ($578 million) a year and worsen environmental challenges.

Critical resources like land, water, and energy go to waste while also contributing to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. Despite Kenya's commitment to reducing food loss and waste under the 2014 Malabo Declaration and SDG 12.3, a lack of robust monitoring, standardized measurement methods, coordination, and financing hinders progress.

Without clear data and accountability mechanisms, stakeholders struggle to implement effective solutions and set meaningful reduction targets.

Preview image by Ivy Muigai/WRI