Causes and solutions for fruit and vegetable waste: a participatory approach with Romanian farmers for sustainable agriculture

ABSTRACT

Fruit and vegetable (FV) waste poses significant challenges to agricultural sustainability, causing resource inefficiencies, environmental degradation, economic loss, and social inequalities. Farmers are the most important stakeholders in minimizing FV waste in primary production, and any intervention must consider their attitudes and perspectives. This study had three objectives: (i) to uncover Romanian farmers’ understanding of FV waste; (ii) to explore their perceptions of direct and indirect causes of FV waste; and (iii) to reveal the solutions suggested by farmers to reduce FV waste. The results of the qualitative research methods, including one to one interviews and a community-based causal analysis (CBCA) process, showed that farmers defined FV waste as discarded produce, excluding items used for compost or animal feed. During the CBCA sessions, three commonly identified indirect causes emerged: consumers’ preference for supermarkets and perfectly shaped FV, the difficulties farmers face in accessing supermarkets, and selling imperfect FV. The study emphasizes farmers’ role in sustainable practices, calling for inclusive policies that prioritize local knowledge and farmers’ needs to tailor FV waste reduction solutions.

KEYWORDS:

• Food waste
• fruit and vegetable
• farmers
• causes
• solutions

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to express their gratitude to all the participants to the interviews and workshops for sharing their experiences and time. The APC for this article was paid using AGC grants from Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Authors’ contribution

Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Dacinia Crina Petrescu: Conceptualization; Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Dacinia Crina Petrescu: Methodology; Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Dacinia Crina Petrescu, Oana Adriana Gica, Ancuta Tenter, Valentin Toader, Adina Letitia Negrusa, Nicoleta Brisan, Lucian Cuibus: Interviews/ workshops; Iulia Ajtai, Carmen Andreea Roba: Transcripts; Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Dacinia Crina Petrescu: Analysis; Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Dacinia Crina Petrescu: Writing first draft; Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag, Dacinia Crina Petrescu: Review and editing; Dacinia Crina Petrescu: Funding.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Informed consent

Participants to interviews and workshops gave their informed consent to participate.

The present research adhered to the COREQ guidelines.

Approval was obtained from the Ethics committee of Babes-Bolyai University; Research ethics approval number: 11.425/08.09.2022.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, CNCS – UEFISCDI, Romania, project number PN-III-P4-PCE-2021-0538, within PNCDI III.