Trade-off assessment tool (ToA tool)
The tool is a decision-making tree that asks key questions about where the biggest food losses and wastage occurs in the supply chain, how consumers and producers can be expected to respond to price changes that result from a FLW reducing intervention, and what the costs of a FLW reducing intervention are.
Depending on the objective that is being pursued with the specific FLW reducing intervention (e.g. improve food security, increase smallholder income, produce more with less resources, or relieve environmental pressures), a preliminary assessment of the proposed intervention can be made. The insights from the assessment will give decision makers a better understanding of the trade-offs and outcomes between food system objectives; they can then make informed decisions by comparing different interventions scenarios.
What type of insights does the methodology generate?
- Insights into the most cost-effective FLW reducing interventions, given the broader societal (social, economic and environmental) objectives that affect the food system.
- Insights into the optimal target and design for effective FLW reducing intervention (given a societal objective, such as improving food security or reducing greenhouse gas emissions).
- Assessment and comparison of the feasibility and potential impact of different FLW reducing interventions and investments.
What type of questions does the methodology help respond?
- How can we identify specific FLW reducing interventions that have the potential to maximise the desired impact by assessment of the scope, commodity and stage in which FLW reducing interventions are targeted?
- How can we maximise the desired impact and effectiveness of an intervention by generating insights and understanding on how the proposed intervention will affect FLW reduction?
- Does the proposed intervention target a stage in the supply chain where FLW is large, or does it target the upstream (input supplying) or downstream (purchasing) stage of the supply chain?
- How to assess the impact of the proposed FLW reducing intervention based on the market price of a specific commodity and assess how consumers and producers potentially respond to these price changes throughout the supply chain?
- How to assess whether estimates on key characteristics of market price formation are retrieved, particularly on the price responsiveness of consumers and producers, and to what extent changes in prices are transmitted through the supply chain?
- What are the conditions for the FLW reducing intervention to generate a positive return on investment for those stakeholders who will bear the initial investment?
- What are the costs of the proposed FLW intervention per unit of product marketed?
- How can we identify which actor in the supply chain will bear these FLW costs primarily? Can this actor recoup these costs, making this a revenue-neutral or positive intervention?
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How does the tool work
The tool contains a set of five questions. By means of these core questions, the tool helps determine whether a specific FLW reducing proposition contributes to food security and/or environmental policy goals cost effectively.
Question 1: The tool asks the user to pick a specific commodity in which high levels of FLW are observed.
Question 2: The user must identify whether the proposed FLW reducing intervention targets a specific stage in the supply chain where FLW is large, or a supply chain stage that mainly shapes loss in subsequent stages.
Question 3: The user must then estimate how consumers and producers would respond to price changes of the commodity in scope.
Question 4: The user must estimate costs of the FLW reducing intervention, identify the actor in the supply chain that bears the primary investment costs of the specific intervention and investigate whether this actor can recuperate these costs within a specific time frame.
Question 5: The user then highlights whether public support e.g. a subsidy or a loan with low interest rate, can be used to achieve success.
As users answers these questions, the tool guides them through a decision tree in which they are asked to respond to yes/no options. By following the sequence of steps in the decision tree, users can make an informed statement about the cost effectiveness and desired outcomes of the proposed FLW reducing intervention.
Do you have questions about using this tool?
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