The big picture
Africa wastes enough food to feed hundreds of millions.
Roughly one third of all food produced in sub-Saharan Africa is lost or wasted between harvest and household. The UN Environment Programme's 2024 Food Waste Index estimates that households across Africa throw away about 92 kg of food per person per year — while the FAO estimates a further 100–170 million tonnes are lost on farms, in storage and in transit each year.
~1/3
Of all food produced
Lost or wasted before it is eaten
92 kg
Household waste per person / year
UNEP Food Waste Index 2024
>$48B
Estimated annual value lost
AfDB & FAO combined estimates
Africa-wide
What the numbers look like across the continent.
Food loss on the continent is heavily concentrated at the production and post-harvest stages — the opposite of Europe and North America, where most waste happens in homes and retail. Poor cold-chain access, unreliable electricity and long informal supply chains are the main drivers.
| Total food lost & wasted per year | ~170 million tonnes |
| Household food waste (per capita, per year) | 92 kg |
| Share of production lost post-harvest | 30–40% |
| Fruits & vegetables lost post-harvest | Up to 50% |
| Cereals lost between farm and market | 10–20% |
| People food-insecure in sub-Saharan Africa | ~282 million |
Yaoundé
Cameroon's capital: waste in a fast-growing city.
Yaoundé generates roughly 1,800 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, and studies from the University of Yaoundé I estimate that 65–70% of that is organic — largely food scraps from households and open-air markets like Mfoundi and Mokolo. Very little of it is currently composted or redirected.
| Daily municipal waste generated | ~1,800 t/day |
| Organic fraction (mostly food) | 65–70% |
| Household food waste per person / year | ~85–95 kg |
| Estimated post-harvest losses (regional markets) | 30–45% |
| Households that report throwing food weekly | ~60% |
Lagos
West Africa's mega-city loses food at every stage.
Lagos generates more than 13,000 tonnes of waste per day, and the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) reports that around half of it is organic. The FAO estimates that Nigeria loses US$9 billion of food each year — a large share of it passing through Lagos markets like Mile 12 and Oyingbo.
| Daily waste generated (city-wide) | ~13,000 t/day |
| Organic fraction | ~50% |
| Household food waste per person / year | ~100 kg |
| Tomato post-harvest loss (Nigeria) | ~45% |
| Annual value of food lost (Nigeria total) | ~US$9 bn |
Nairobi
Kenya's capital: markets, malls and household waste.
Nairobi produces about 2,400 tonnes of waste per day according to the Nairobi City County. The UNEP Food Waste Index puts Kenyan household food waste at 99 kg per person per year — one of the highest per-capita figures on the continent. Wakulima Market alone discards tonnes of unsold produce every night.
| Daily municipal waste generated | ~2,400 t/day |
| Organic fraction | ~60% |
| Household food waste per person / year | 99 kg (UNEP 2024) |
| Mango & avocado post-harvest loss | 30–40% |
| Milk lost in informal cold chain | ~6% |
Root causes
Why so much food is lost — and where.
Post-harvest handling
Manual harvesting, poor packaging and long informal transport routes damage produce before it ever reaches a market stall.
Weak cold chain
Less than 15% of perishables move through a continuous cold chain, versus 90%+ in Europe. Power cuts amplify the loss.
Retail overstocking
Supermarkets and hotels routinely over-order and dispose of unsold stock at close of business — the market Dashers partners rescue every evening.
Household waste
Bulk cooking, weak fridge access and cultural pressure to over-serve mean real household waste sits close to European per-capita levels in major cities.
Environmental cost
What that waste does to the climate.
8–10%
Of global emissions from food waste
UN FAO
45M t
CO₂e from African food waste / year
Modelled from UNEP figures
25 km³
Fresh water wasted with the food
FAO water footprint
Take action
Turning the numbers into meals.
Dashers exists to shrink these figures — connecting neighbours, restaurants and NGOs so surplus food is rescued in under 30 minutes instead of ending up in a landfill. If you're a business, a volunteer or just a neighbour, there's a way to help.
Sources
Where the numbers come from.
- UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 — per-capita household waste figures.
- FAO — The State of Food and Agriculture 2019 and follow-up briefs on post-harvest loss.
- African Development Bank — annual value of food lost across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) — city waste composition data.
- Nairobi City County solid waste management reports.
- University of Yaoundé I — municipal solid waste composition studies.
- Rockefeller Foundation YieldWise programme — Kenyan mango & Nigerian tomato loss.
Where sources differ we cite the most recent peer-reviewed or UN-published figure. City-level per-capita numbers are modelled from national household surveys applied to the city's population.