The role of faith-based organizations in tackling food loss and waste in Rwanda: A preliminary study

The role of faith-based organizations in tackling food loss and waste in Rwanda: A preliminary study

This Working Paper is part of Faith and Sustainability and Circular Food Systems for Rwanda within Food and Equity & Governance. Reach out to Rocío Campos for more information.

Food loss and waste are critical challenges in Rwanda, where nearly 40 percent of food produced is lost or wasted despite widespread food insecurity. This paper explores the vital role faith-based organizations can play in addressing FLW and contributing to national food security and sustainability. FBOs in Rwanda operate schools, health centers, and houses of worship that reach large segments of the population, making them key actors in influencing behaviors and attitudes around food consumption, management and waste. This study, one of the first to focus on FBOs' contributions to FLW, uses survey, interviews, and case studies to examine ongoing efforts, identify barriers and offer recommendations for scaling up FBO-led initiatives.

The paper reveals that while many FBOs already contribute to agriculture and community development, few have formal FLW programs in place, citing limited resources and knowledge as key barriers. However, FBOs see significant opportunities to address FLW by raising awareness, improving skills, and fostering partnerships with government, NGOs and the private sector. This paper outlines strategic actions to strengthen FBOs' involvement in Rwanda's national food system transformation, from capacity building and policy integration to advocacy and collaboration. Through targeted interventions, FBOs can become powerful agents of change, advancing Rwanda's goals for food security, economic resilience and environmental sustainability.

Key Findings:

• Addressing FLW is considered critical to food security, economic prosperity and climate resilience, especially for an African nation such as Rwanda, which loses 40 percent of its food supply annually.
• FBOs play an integral role in Rwandan society. Rwandan FBOs manage 30 percent of the nation's health facilities and 75 percent of schools-sectors that are considerably engaged in food systems.
• Most FBOs in Rwanda did not report having formal FLW reduction programs in place.
• FBOs identified limited skills, knowledge, and awareness as the top barriers to engage in FLW reduction. Other sectors interviewed, including government and private sector, identified a lack of best practices, investment capital and enabling food policy.
• Training, policy, research and increased funding can accelerate FBO action on FLW in Rwanda.