Modelling the drivers for sustainable agri-food waste management

Abstract

Purpose

The waste of invaluable agri-food produce is the concern of United Nations Organisation and all countries across the world. The purpose of this paper is to identify and model the drivers of agri-food waste management in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The interpretive structural modelling method is used to model the drivers in this study. This method helps in understanding the driver-dependent relationships among various drivers/criteria which are selected for studying.

Findings

The findings of the study vividly shows that the drivers such as disaster management planning, information dissemination, and training and awareness programs for farmers are most vital for tackling the issue.

Research limitations/implications

This work would help the policy makers in developing the effective policies regarding the management of agri-food waste in a sustainable manner.

Practical implications

This work would be very helpful for deeply understanding the causes of occurring waste and carefully handling it scientifically with a managerial perspective. Hence, it has the potential to reduce the generation of waste and saving the food for society.

Social implications

With the help of this study, the people, society, and underprivileged will be benefited directly. The savings in agri-food waste will not only help in controlling the prices of it but also its more availability would be beneficial for all in beating the hunger.

Originality/value

The identification of drivers for the sustainable management of agri-food is the novelty of this research.

Citation

Chauhan, A., Debnath, R.M. and Singh, S.P. (2018), "Modelling the drivers for sustainable agri-food waste management", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 981-993. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-07-2017-0196