FOOD LOSSES AND FOOD WASTE: ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT By Aishatu Mala Musa* The world population is expected to reach 10.5 billion by 2050 (UN 2013), food losses and food waste will aggravate global food security concerns and this will be more demanding amongst the poor communities of the world. It has been predicted that about 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted or lost globally annually, reduction of these losses increase the amount of food available for human consumption. Food loss mostly happens during harvesting, sorting, threshing grading storage, and transportation of farm produce while food waste is the loss of edible food due to human action or inaction, such as throwing away farm produce (carrot, yam) because it is not of a normal (usual) shape or not finishing up the meal served to an individual. Municipal solid waste disposal is a bottleneck to the development of most cities around the world. As urbanization, economic growth and multi-racial societies grow, there is attendant increase in the amount of waste generated. Mismanagement of wastes poses both environmental and economic consequences to the society. The pollution of ground water with leachates, direct contact to the soil, pollution of air with pungent odor, prevalence of rodents, roads strewn with flying wastes, are some of the problems associated with improper management of wastes.  Most wastes are putrescible (organic) that have high moisture content and can decompose easily If wastes can be safely composted, it will reduce the amount of wastes that are sent to dumpsites and these composts when applied to agricultural lands or gardens can reduce the amount of synthetic fertilizer and/or reduce financial input that will be used and has also reduced the amount of waste that will have otherwise ended up in the landfills. Composting redirects most parts of biodegradable portion of municipal solid waste that will end up in landfills and such action enhances environmental sustainability of municipal solid waste management and economic viability. Municipal solid waste mostly accounts for more than 60% (by weight) of a community’s residential solid waste and it is mostly made up of organic materials. Agricultural waste compost addition to agricultural land has been natural to man since the beginning of times but now as the waste generation of man is increasing it is natural that we should find a means of completing the cycle of nature through production, usage and returning the waste back to land properly. Our wisdom of improvising for the fertilization of our farms with cow dung, chicken droppings and other sources of organic manures is very helpful. Every year with the little fertilizer our farmers apply to our lands they make a meaningful harvest but unfortunately some quantities are lost along the chain (harvesting, threshing, transporting, processing).  One of the major problems of the agricultural sector as outlined severally by the FAO is not a shortage of food per se but an increment in food loss. Food loss and food waste account for a very large percent of the foods that go to waste annually. A third of food bought by residents in most industrialized countries goes to waste. In sub-Saharan Africa, the waste is mostly confined to those arising during harvesting threshing and/or going to farm. The culture of consuming almost all vegetables both in the fresh and dry forms has also in a way reduced the amount of food lost annually in Africa. Insecurity has also had its share in the food loss scenario where people fled from their homes before the harvests.  According to FAO, in developing countries food waste and losses occurs mainly at the early stages of the food value chain and can be traced to financial, managerial and technical constraints in harvesting techniques as well as storage and cooling facilities. Strengthening the supply chain through the direct support of farmers and investments in infrastructure, transportation, as well as in an expansion of the food and packaging industry could help to reduce the amount of food loss and waste. Food losses and food waste influence global food security. The main channels advocated for more food supply are increasing production area and/or increasing yield of harvest per unit area but the major leaking pipe always overlooked as confirmed by FAO is always postharvest losses. In a world where millions go to bed without food, it would be a crime to allow food losses and food waste to continue. Most people think they are not wasting food but for every morsel thrown out into in the dustbin it should have landed in the hands of a child somewhere. Food waste does not imply taking out a huge quantity of food and throwing it out. But it also includes the scrap from your plate that you feel you shouldn’t finish up. If we start the culture of saving up food by reducing to the barest minimum food we waste, it will go a long way in alleviating the problems of hunger in the world. If we imbibe the culture of sharing out what we have in excess before it spoils, it will go a long way in bringing smiles to the faces of dozens. Another unfortunate way of food wastage on the table is serving beyond ones capacity and one ends up leaving the  food lost annually in Africa. Insecurity has also had its share in the food loss scenario where people fled from their homes before the harvests.  According to FAO, in developing countries food waste and losses occurs mainly at the early stages of the food value chain and can be traced to financial, managerial and technical constraints in harvesting techniques as well as storage and cooling facilities. Strengthening the supply chain through the direct support of farmers and investments in infrastructure, transportation, as well as in an expansion of the food and packaging industry could help to reduce the amount of food loss and waste. Food losses and food waste influence global food security. The main channels advocated for more food supply are increasing production area and/or increasing yield of harvest per unit area but the major leaking pipe always overlooked as confirmed by FAO is always postharvest losses. In a world where millions go to bed without food, it would be a crime to allow food losses and food waste to continue. Most people think they are not wasting food but for every morsel thrown out into in the dustbin it should have landed in the hands of a child somewhere. Food waste does not imply taking out a huge quantity of food and throwing it out. But it also includes the scrap from your plate that you feel you shouldn’t finish up. If we start the culture of saving up food by reducing to the barest minimum food we waste, it will go a long way in alleviating the problems of hunger in the world. If we imbibe the culture of sharing out what we have in excess before it spoils, it will go a long way in bringing smiles to the faces of dozens. Another unfortunate way of food wastage on the table is serving beyond ones capacity and one ends up leaving the food on the table only for it to be thrown out, we need to imbibe the habit of serving what we can finish up and then we need to learn to eat leftover food. However, if one lives in Northern Nigeria in an area where almajiri can be found the issue of food waste is almost zero but where the person lives in a GRA or where the almajirai dare not tread, then most leftover food will be in the dustbin. In northern Nigeria, the abundance of sunshine has also made it easier to reduce food waste because one can dry up any leftover or surplus food and give to domestic animals. Food waste statistics may not be very much in the north east because there are a lot of people that will be ready to eat leftover food if they can access it. But yet, this is a serious problem globally and we need to ensure that it does not creep up our doorways. A slice of bread when thrown away is food waste, a pack of sweet potato thrown away because it has been allowed to rot is food waste.  Cottage Industries The time for the opening up of cottage industries in the north east is now. The northeast has been bedeviled with insecurity, loss of lives, livelihood and properties for almost a decade now. Opening up of such industries will give our local people work to do and it will help in reducing the annual losses we incur as a result of glut. Industries for the processing of produce like; onion, pepper, seasoned pepper, ginger powder, gruel powder and the likes These are things that are produced (farmed) with virtually no much incentive from the government. If we can help these local farmers to produce a little more, buy up their harvests, processand package it, markets will open up before we realize it even if it will be a seasonal business. THE CHALLENGE As concerned citizens, the task before us is how to harness opportunities for the betterment of the northeast to help the people, alleviate their poverty and help build their capacity. One of the major difficulties faced by most people in the north east with regards to obtaining loan from the federal government and/or financial institutions is the bureaucratic process involved. I will advocate that the next time we see an advert circulating for individuals in whatever age group to come and apply for a loan from the federal government to kick start a business, we organize the young men and women in our neighborhood and go forward and help them with all the filling up of forms and writing of proposals to ensure that they succeed. Even if it means putting in our resources it will be worthy because if they are able to access the loan and start up a viable business we will have aided in pulling one or more people up out of  the poverty line. *Aishatu Teaches soil science at the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola , Currently a PhD candidate in Soil and Environmental Management Adamawa State, , Universiti Putra Malaysia. Nigeria.