Transforming unsold food to fight food waste in Madagascar

While 30% of the world's food production is lost or wasted (FAO, 2020), in Madagascar, for certain products such as lychees, this figure can reach up to 70%. At the same time 74% of the Malagasy population lives in poverty and faces a situation of food insecurity (World Bank, 2020).

However, these losses open up opportunities for the valorization of surplus or wasted food to fight malnutrition more effectively while creating new jobs. Rethinking the food system towards a circular economy system would thus make it possible to guarantee sufficient resources, food security and balanced nutrition for all.

Bii proposes a response to food insecurity and waste by collecting, transforming, and distributing or reselling surplus food, relying on a digital solution to optimize the process.

The FID prepare Grant enabled Bii in partnership with the Malagasy company Lecofruit and the Loharano cooperative, to:

• Validate transformation techniques and establish an initial catalog of certified products
• Test an entrepreneurship support model with a cooperative of 12 women
• Conduct a market study among consumers and sales points and define a marketing strategy

With this new pilot stage grant from FID, Bii will test the support model in real-world conditions for two years by:

• Developing and consolidating partnerships with agri-food companies
• Strengthening transformation activities through increased processing capacity and the training of women's cooperatives
• Expanding the marketing strategy on a larger scale by diversifying processed products and operationalizing sales

The primary goal of Bii is to contribute to reducing the impacts of climate change, poverty, and food insecurity in Madagascar.

The pilot project aims to achieve the following results:

• Engagement of partners in greenhouse gas reduction (42.5 tons of recovered food and 79.8 tons of CO2 avoided over 24 months)
• Contribution to the empowerment of supported women (30 women trained and employed sustainably in 2 cooperatives)
• Transformation of vegetable sorting waste into value-added products for consumers

Bii will partner with the Institut de Recherche et de Développement (IRD) in Madagascar as well as students from the University of Bordeaux, the Polytechnic Institute and the University of Antananarivo in order to co-develop and support the implementation of a monitoring-evaluation plan.