New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- The world marked the seventh International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September under the United Nations theme of the transformative potential of reducing such loss. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) is a fitting test of that promise.

Its lending has crossed Rs.1 trillion, a real milestone, yet that is only 65.4% of the Rs.1.53 trillion ($18.5 billion) that NABCONS estimates India loses after harvest every year. Six years of lending have not matched even eight months of losses.

The basis for action is arithmetic, not sentiment. About 30% of the food the world produces never reaches a plate: 13.2% is lost between harvest and retail, and a further 17% in shops and homes. FAO attributes about...