Technical capacity building for the reduction of food loss and waste in Cuba

Abstract

The growing demand for food, driven by demographic expansion, can be effectively mitigated through strategies aimed at reducing Food Loss and Waste and the optimization of consumer dietary patterns. As part of the capacity-building plan for the implementation of Law 148/2022—Law on Food Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security—three workshops were conducted in the western, central, and eastern regions of Cuba on the topic of food loss and waste between November 2022 and March 2023. The methodology of these sessions was based on the political-pedagogical conception of Popular Education, with the participation of 136 individuals acting as facilitators and key actors within local food systems. Information derived from group exercises—termed practical accumulations, dialogue with the law, and ongoing work—was analyzed. As a result, a discussion was established on how facilitators and actors within local agri-food systems perceive the phenomenon under analysis. Participants agreed on the need for training processes to be systematic and adapted to the specific characteristics of each local context. It is demonstrated that the pedagogical approach of Popular Education energizes knowledge about food loss and waste by fostering a high degree of participation in the collective analysis and identification of problems and solutions.