This project embarks on an exploration of food losses and wastes in the vegetable industry of the CordilleraAdministrative Region in the Philippines. Marked as the country's most abundant highland farming sector, thisregion suffers acutely from multiple accounts of post-harvest losses, and these are exacerbated by the lack ofwell-defined waste management programs. The impacts of these losses are severe - ranging from decliningfarmer profits to compromised food security and even greater environmental impacts from biowastedecomposition.
One emerging solution to the waste problem is to upcycle these losses. Food upcycling is generally a means ofrepurposing and valorising ingredients that would otherwise have been thrown away, in the form of value-addedproducts. Part of the circular economy principle, food upcycling can be a viable means of offsetting profit lossesfor farmers. Despite this, the aggregated and real volume of losses and the feasibility of implementingupcycling practices in the Cordilleras remain unclear. Therefore, this project will first conduct baselineassessments on the composition and extent of post-harvest losses from the major highland crops in the region(carrots, cabbages, potatoes). Next, this project will lead pilot studies on upcycling these losses into productswith culinary uses, such as dried vegetable powders as flavour additives or pickled and cured products.Findings will be compiled into a roadmap for viable ways to upcycle food, to be shared with stakeholdersthrough engagement activities.
This project will pave the way for spearheading circular economies in the Philippine vegetable industry.Moreover, this project will generate knowledge on food upcycling that will be made available to the generalpublic. Put together, these efforts will transform the region into a competitive and robust model for sustainablefood loss and waste valorisation, with the hope of developing best practices that other provinces can emulate.