[IFPRI] 2016). Small farms play different roles: billions of people get their income, employment and food from these lands. They are also home to most of the world’s undernourished population. FAO estimates that if gender inequality in access to land resources is eliminated, agricultural output could increase by 2.5-4.0 per cent. Additionally, it would lead to a reduction of 12-17 per cent reduction in the number of undernourished people in developing countries (IFPRI 2016). In low-income agrarian societies, agricultural growth is more effective for reducing hunger and poverty than promoting any other sector of the economy (FAO 2015e). If SDG Target 2.3 is to be achieved by 2030, agricultural productivity of small farms should increase simultaneously with the incomes of their farmers. Policies should especially target the most vulnerable small-scale food producers (e.g. women, indigenous peoples), so they can have guaranteed access to market and other production means, including their material, informational and financial needs.
It is clear that minimizing food losses and waste will have significant environmental, social and economic benefits in supporting global food security (UNEP 2015). Where waste cannot be prevented, opportunities to recover value, such as conversion to compost, liquid fertilizers, biogas or higher value end-use products such as animal feed protein or biochemicals, should be explored (Jayathilakan et al. 2012; Nguyen, Tomberlin and Vanlaerhoven 2015; UNEP 2015). Achieving SDG Target 12.3 of halving per capita global food losses and waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030, will require significant intervention and commitment, but also diverse strategies, since the reasons for food losses and waste, and the area within the food supply chain where losses and waste occur, differ between developed and developing countries (FAO 2015c).