The European Union (EU) has revealed that Nigeria wastes about 38 million tonnes of food annually the highest on the African continent, as it joined the Federal Government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to demand urgent action to curb food waste and promote sustainable consumption.

The partners warned that massive food waste was worsening climate change, draining valuable resources and undermining efforts to build a sustainable and circular economy. Speaking in Abuja at the commemoration of this year’s International Zero Waste Day, themed

“Food Waste Reduction Minimisation and Valorisation,” the Deputy Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Zissimos Vergos, said the scale of food waste in Nigeria and globally was alarming.

He disclosed that Nigeria wastes roughly 38 million tonnes of food every year, stressing that the environmental and economic implications are enormous. He said: “Globally, in 2022 alone, nearly one billion tonnes of food, almost one fifth of all food available to consumers, was wasted.

“This is not just a loss of food, it is a squandering of precious resources, a missed opportunity to combat hunger, and a direct threat to our planet’s health.” He further warned that food loss and waste were major drivers of environmental degradation.

“Food loss and waste are major drivers of environmental degradation, contributing up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly five times the emissions of the entire aviation sector, and accounting for as much as 40 percent of global methane emissions.” Highlighting Nigeria’s policy initiatives, Vergos commended the government for taking structural steps towards a circular economy.

“The Nigeria circular Economy Roadmap, the establishment of the Interministerial Circular Economy Committee, the push to develop a National Plastic Waste Management Regulation, these are not small gestures. These are structural shifts.