Food Loss and Food Waste Assessment of Strategic Food Commodities in South Kalimantan Province: Economic Valuation and Carrying Capacity Implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/jafost.v7i2.14463Keywords:
Economic assessment, Food loss, Food waste, Supply chain efficiency, Sustainable agricultureAbstract
Food loss and food waste constitute significant barriers to achieving food security and sustainable agricultural development in Indonesia. This research quantifies food loss and waste across the complete supply chain for eight strategic commodities in South Kalimantan Province, examining their economic implications and theoretical carrying capacity contributions. Using Food Balance Sheet methodology with FAO regional coefficients, we analyzed 2024 supply chain flows for eight strategic commodities: rice, root crops (sweet potato, cassava), fruits (orange, banana), and vegetables (tomato, chilies). Based on 2024 data, our analysis documents substantial inefficiencies with aggregate food loss and waste reaching 49.7% of total production. Rice shows 17.5% total losses, while horticultural crops approach 60% loss rates. Economic losses total IDR 4.3 trillion (20% of agricultural output). Upstream supply chain stages account for 83.8% of total losses, indicating fundamental infrastructure and technical capacity constraints. Carrying capacity calculations demonstrate that orange losses alone could theoretically sustain the entire provincial population for approximately 29 years, revealing substantial untapped potential for regional food security enhancement. These findings suggest that efficiency improvements may offer important alternatives to production-focused development strategies for enhancing food security. Priority interventions should target post-harvest infrastructure, processing capacity, and cold chain development.
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