On the occasion of International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, held on 29 September, Luxembourg's Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development has announced that it is launching a call for projects to support the prevention and reduction of food waste through local and innovative projects.

This call for projects aims to support one or more projects led by citizens, citizens' groups, associations or organisations by providing financial assistance for the realisation of the project. A budget of €7,500 may be allocated to a single project or spread over several depending on the quality of the projects presented, their impact in terms of reducing food loss and waste and their financial need. The selected projects will also benefit from advertising on the platform www.antigaspi.lu (available in four languages including English).

Luxembourg's Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development, Romain Schneider, stressed the importance of continued mobilisation so that a multitude of players unite in the fight against food waste. The call for projects is also part of the Agriculture Ministry's awareness campaign "Together against food waste".

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 1.3 billion tonnes of the edible portion of food intended for human consumption is wasted or lost around the world - the equivalent of one-third of the food produced. International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, celebrated for the first time this year, was set up by the United Nations General Assembly in order to contribute significantly to raising awareness of the extent of the problem and promoting efforts contributing to sustainable development.

In this context, Minister Romain Schneider pointed out that favouring local products also means actively combating food waste; by promoting short circuits we avoid long transport and, as a result, considerably reduce CO2 emissions while encouraging sustainable production practices and strengthening the position of local producers.