“Food production now accounts for about a fifth
of total greenhouse gas emissions annually,
which means that agriculture contributes more
than any other sector to climate change.”– Amanda Little, author of “The Fate of Food”
The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (FLW) was observed during September and focused on the “Transformative Potential of Reducing Food Loss and Waste.” Reducing FLW is enshrined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—within SDG 12—which seeks to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, with Target 12.3 aiming to “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains” by 2030.
This year’s International Day of Awareness of FLW campaign, which is co-convened annually by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), highlighted reducing food loss and waste to protect natural resources and biodiversity, reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and maximising the use of food produced. It is therefore central to secure efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, and improve food security, nutrition and health.
In addition, embracing innovation and fostering circular economy approaches to prevent, reduce, reuse and repurpose FLW also serves to create new job opportunities, improve livelihoods and generate much-needed electricity and financial benefits for a range of stakeholders.
Globally, about 1.05–1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted each year, representing between 24% and 26% of all food produced. In Africa, food waste and loss account for roughly 16% of the global total, with Nigeria alone discarding an estimated 38 million tonnes annually.
Food waste in Africa is not just about scraps in the bin. On the one hand, it’s about millions of tonnes of edible food lost before reaching the table, while millions remain hungry. On the other hand, these figures highlight urgent inefficiencies in food and waste management systems.
Food-waste-to-energy projects in Africa hold massive potential to solve dual crises: severe energy insecurity and overflowing landfills, though development remains largely untapped outside of localised innovations.
It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa loses up to 40% of fruits and vegetables before reaching consumers due to post-harvest and supply chain losses, creating vast organic waste streams. Decomposition drives 58% of methane emissions from waste, making conversion projects vital for climate goals. Anaerobic digestion offers strong financial returns and positive net present values across diverse regional markets.
“On the continent, South Africa has the most advanced, though incomplete, waste-to-energy policy framework,” says Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl, editor-in-chief of leading African energy trade journal ESI Africa. She explains: “The 2021 amendment to the Electricity Regulation Act eased grid connections for biogas projects without full licensing from NERSA (National Energy Regulator of South Africa). The SA Biogas Industry Association’s National Biogas Strategy proposes tariffs rewarding organic-waste recovery. The 2020 National Waste Management Strategy bans organic waste from landfills, indirectly pushing municipalities and businesses towards separation and diversion for anaerobic digestion or composting, thereby aligning waste management with energy and climate objectives.”
– The Coastal Park Landfill Gas-to-Energy Plant near Muizenberg, Cape Town, is a R93-million project converting methane from decomposing waste into electricity. It generates about 1.3 million kWh monthly, with 1.2 million kWh fed into the municipal grid and the remainder powering site operations. This output supplies electricity for more than 4,300 households, reducing harmful emissions while contributing to local energy security. The initiative demonstrates how landfill gas recovery can simultaneously address waste management, climate goals and community energy needs in South Africa’s urban context.
– Ghana has been developing food-waste-to-energy projects centred on anaerobic digestion. In urban markets, organic waste streams such as fruit and vegetable residues are separated from municipal waste and fed into industrial digesters, producing purified biogas for electricity and cooking fuel. Rural experiments, such as at Bedabour Secondary School, use co-digestion of fruit waste and beet molasses to achieve high methane yields, though stability challenges remain. These initiatives reduce methane emissions and support decentralised power generation.
– Nigeria’s growing food-waste-to-energy initiatives incorporate anaerobic digestion and integrated circular systems. Urban biogas plants in Lagos, Ibadan and Sokoto convert municipal organic waste and manure into electricity, cooking gas and fertiliser. For example, the Ikosi and EOS K2 markets in Lagos process tens of tonnes of fruit waste daily via dedicated biogas plants to power night lighting, cell phone charging kiosks and cooking gas for vendors.
Studies estimate that Nigeria generates over 27 million tonnes of organic waste annually, with potential yields of 14–23 TWh of electricity. Pilot hubs employing integrated circular systems, such as ECO-FRESH, integrate waste digestion with solar cold chains, diverting daily tonnes of food waste, producing biogas, reducing postharvest losses and boosting farmer incomes while cutting emissions.
– Supported by the European Union’s H2020 programme, the REFFECT Africa project reveals how agricultural residues can be transformed into renewable energy through biomass gasification. Three demonstrators in Ghana, Morocco and South Africa valorise local waste streams: cashew and peanut shells in Ghana, olive pomace and tree prunings in Morocco as well as pine wood chips in South Africa. These feedstocks are converted into electricity, heat, drinking water and biochar, reducing fossil fuel dependence and emissions. The initiative highlights the untapped potential of agri-food waste to support rural electrification, climate goals and local employment across diverse African contexts.
Several food-waste-to-energy projects on the continent have started to position themselves for carbon credits, particularly through methane mitigation and biochar production. REFFECT Africa’s demonstrators are explicitly conducting life-cycle assessments to quantify carbon savings while South African biogas firms like Madam Waste are exploring carbon credit markets.
“We are also in the process of finalising our project for earning carbon credits,” says South African waste management entrepreneur and innovator, Pieter van Heyningen of KULU Eco-Services. “That means that we can pass on these credits to our partners. We believe in shared value, so we share a portion of these carbon credits with the waste generators and conventional waste transporters.”
KULU Eco-Services are involved in projects across the continent. Says Pieter: “We recently engaged in Nigeria to partner with organisations to start exporting difficult-to-treat liquid and organic wastes, which we transform into feedstocks for biofuels and biogas. Locally in Cape Town, we use our locally grown, pioneering technology to transform these organic waste streams into feedstocks for biofuels and biogas.” [Read the full interview here.]
– This article first appeared in the Green Economy Express newsletter, published by Africa’s Green Economy Summit.
Africa's Green Economy Summit connects industry professionals and organisations to information and each other in a carefully curated live environment. Its purpose is to support in mobilising investments for green projects to scale up and industrialisation, which will have a significant impact on environmental sustainability and economic growth.
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