Minister of Agriculture: Average Food Waste for Jordanians Reaches 81.3 Kilograms per Person Annually

He added that reducing food loss and waste is no longer an issue linked only to consumption patterns, but represents an important component of enhancing food security and efficient use of resources, and building a more sustainable and resilient food system, especially in a water-scarce country like Jordan.

He pointed out that the Supreme Council for Food Security, in cooperation with the World Food Programme and relevant national entities, through the Food Loss and Waste Committee, is leading interconnected efforts based on three main axes: providing reliable national data that drive decision-making, promoting community change and responsible behavior towards food, and establishing institutional governance that ensures the sustainability of work and the integration of national efforts.

Khraisat emphasized that the national study to measure food waste was a key starting point for building a national knowledge base on the scale and patterns of waste, as it is the first national study to provide a baseline for measuring food waste, and was conducted in cooperation between the Supreme Council for Food Security, the Department of Statistics, the World Food Programme, and with the contribution of young Jordanian researchers.

He explained that the study covered households, the restaurant and hotel sector, and hospitals, and resulted in the launch of the first national indicator for household food waste, which showed that the average food waste was 81.3 kilograms per person annually, equivalent to about one million tons of wasted food annually at the national level.

He pointed out that these figures not only reflect the amount of wasted food, but also the associated water, energy, labor, financial, and natural resources invested in food production, import, manufacturing, transport, storage, and delivery to the consumer, noting that the study's results form a national baseline that can be built upon to guide policies and programs and measure the impact of future interventions.

He pointed out that the Council is working to expand the knowledge and measurement base to include additional links in the food system, including the retail and commercial sectors, alongside studies related to food consumption patterns and other sectors, with the aim of more accurately identifying waste points and causes, and building evidence-based interventions.

He also emphasized the importance of continuing to develop national food loss measurement across different supply chain links, allowing for a more comprehensive picture of food loss and waste throughout the national food system.

In parallel, Khraisat pointed to the importance of community participation in the national campaign 'Value It, Don't Waste It,' implemented by the Supreme Council for Food Security in cooperation with the World Food Programme, with the aim of raising awareness of the value of food and transforming knowledge into more responsible daily practices.

In this context, 2026 witnessed the establishment of the Specialized Union for Managing Food Loss and Waste, a step aimed at institutionalizing and organizing specialized community work in this field and enhancing its sustainability.

The Union includes associations from various governorates of the Kingdom working in areas related to managing loss and waste and benefiting from surplus food, contributing to coordinating initiatives, exchanging experiences and best practices, and enhancing the integration between community work and national food security priorities.

Work is underway to complete the framework of cooperation between the Supreme Council for Food Security and the Union, supporting the sustainability of initiatives and enhancing the role of civil society institutions as partners in national efforts to reduce food loss and waste.

Khraisat explained that these paths are being coordinated through the Food Loss and Waste Committee, under the umbrella of the Supreme Council for Food Security, with the participation of national entities and relevant partners, enhancing the integration of data, policies, awareness, and community work, and limiting the dispersion or duplication of efforts.

He emphasized that addressing food loss and waste requires looking at the food system as a whole, starting from production and post-harvest, through processing, transport, storage, marketing, retail, and food services, to the consumer.

For her part, the representative of the World Food Programme and its Country Director in Jordan, Antonella Davoli, said that reducing food waste is not just a matter of resource efficiency, but an investment in food security, sustainability, and resilience.

She added that the World Food Programme is proud of its partnership with the Supreme Council for Food Security and national institutions in Jordan to translate national data into practical actions, support behavioral change, and promote a sustainable institutional approach that contributes to protecting resources and enhancing food security for future generations, in line with the priorities of Jordan's National Food Security Strategy.

Khraisat confirmed that addressing food loss and waste cannot be achieved by a single entity or a temporary campaign, but requires a shared responsibility that includes the government, private sector, producers, farmers, food industries, restaurants, hotels, retailers, educational institutions, civil society organizations, families, and individuals.

On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, the Supreme Council for Food Security called on various components of society to treat food as a resource of nutritional, economic, social, and environmental value, and to adopt responsible practices that contribute to reducing its waste.

He emphasized that the real transformation starts from daily decisions within the home and institution, but becomes a national transformation when supported by data, policies, institutions, and partnerships, and translated into measurable impact.