Food Loss as a Global Problem Identifiable in the Production Chain: The Case of Oversupply in Agro-Products in Azuay-Ecuador

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognizes as “food waste” the scraps of products intended for human nutrition, the origin of which lies in the processes involved in its generation (production, post-harvest, and processing). The Ecuadorian government addresses this global problem but does not establish guidelines to find practical solutions. In the city of Cuenca, information was collected through semi-structured surveys of 78 producers from the “Chaguarchimbana” market and 62 from the “Cristo Rey” market. The information from each agroecological fair collected is sized by one-way analysis of variance using SPSS statistical software. The significance level was determined at p < p 0.05, the probability of success/failure (p/q = 50%). The significant differences between samples were analyzed using Tukey's Honesty Significant Different (HSD). The ten least traded products identified were tomato, purple cabbage, and lettuce; however, the waste perceived by the producers was the same only in tomato, purple cabbage, pumpkin, and beetroot, demonstrating that even though there is a different volume of sowing and marketing and that they are geographically distant, the problem is the same in the rural parishes of the canton Cuenca. The purpose of this study is to provide a basis for decision-making by public and private entities.