Paper Title
Agriculture Produce Surplus Economical Management – Reduction of Waste, Means to Sustainability and Food Security

Abstract
Agriculture food loss occurs at the post-harvest, processing and productionstages in the food supply chain, and refers to the decrease in edible food that was meant for human consumption. About 3.8 million tons of vegetables and fruits are grown and marketed in Israel each year for local consumption. The objectives of the study include assessment of losses in agricultural production and post-harvest loss left in agricultural fields and plantations in Israel, as well as means to reduce these losses, that turn mostly to waste, and manage them, if formed.The methods consisted of analysis of existing data, interviews with experts in the field, and a questionnaire among farmers. Our assessments reveal 200,000 tons per year of edible agricultural surpluses.These thousands of tons of fruits and vegetables are destroyed by farmers, or left in the fields for different economic reasons. Only 10,000 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables are saved yearly.Agricultural surpluses-waste minimization should be seen as a primary focus for most waste management strategies. In order to minimize the loss of food and production of waste, there is a need to develop clear policies, both in order to reduce agricultural produce surplus and limit produce destruction as well as optimal utilization of the surplus if formed. Our study proposes that if agricultural surpluses are created, these surplus fruits and vegetables should be transferred to the needy. Our study suggests increasing awareness of farmers of the existence of non-profit food organizations by encouraging the link between the suppliers (the farmers) and the demand (charity organizations). However, the farmers should not be the ones to bear the market failure, and therefore we suggest creating a mechanism that will increase farmers' profitability by voluntarily reporting of surplus quantities. We also suggest how to increase cooperation between government, non-profit food organizations and farmers. Keywords - Agriculture Food Loss, Agriculture Waste, Source Reduction, Food Security, Surplus Management