Sci. Agri. 19 (1), 2017: 31-38 © PSCI Publications Scientia Agriculturae www.pscipub.com/SA E-ISSN: 2310-953X / P-ISSN: 2311-0228 DOI: 10.15192/PSCP.SA.2017.19.1.3138 Analysis of Food Waste Attitude among Peri- urban Households in Ogun State, Nigeria Olatomide Waheed Olowa, Omowumi Ayodele Olowa Department of Agricultural Education, Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka, Lagos. Nigeria. Corresponding Author email:owolowa@gmail.com Paper Information A B S T R A C T Received: 8 March, 2017 Accepted: 27 July, 2017 Published: 20 August, 2017 Food security and food self-sufficiency cannot be attained until the scale of food waste is reduced or stopped. This is truer for Nigeria that is reeling in economic recession in the recent times. This study examines the perception of food waste attitude by household heads and isolates the drivers of food waste among households in towns that are within the perimeters of main cities. The sample for the study consist of 240 household heads selected through multi-stage sampling across the four agricultural zones of Ogun State. Data collected on socio-demographic characteristics, perception on household waste attitude and self-declaration, were analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit model. Results showed that Household heads that indicated that they are Non-waster are older with larger household size but with lower average years of education when compared to the waster group. Analysis of the Respondents perception on factors that predispose households to food waste ranked cultural factors as the first. Age (β =-0.11), being a widow (β =-0.23), frequency of shopping (β =- 0.26) are among the significant determinants of food wastage. Unplanned and impulsive purchases should be discouraged and dissemination of information about food waste and moralizing about ethical responsibility are recommended as remedy among others. © 2017 PSCI Publisher All rights reserved. Key words: Food waste, Ogun State, Households, Food Security, Supermarket, Shopping Introduction There is no general consensus as to the definition of food waste. Definitions vary on what food waste consists of, how it is produced, and from where it is discarded. Cultural variations also play a role in defining food waste: what is considered to be waste in some countries may not be considered as waste in others (e.g. intestines and internal organs of some animals). In report about food waste the terms ‘avoidable’, ‘partially avoidable’, and ‘unavoidable’ were used: avoidable food waste is food that was edible at some point prior to disposal (e.g. a slice of bread, plate residues, etc,); partially avoidable food waste is waste generated because of different consumer habits (e.g. bread crusts, apple skins, potato peels, cassava peels etc.); and unavoidable food waste is food that is not edible and derives from preparation and consumption, e.g. bones, eggshell, coffee grounds, corn offal etc.(Stenmarck et al., 2011). The term food wastage, as used by the FAO, encompasses both food loss and food waste. Wastage occurs along the entire food/value chain and varies in extent depending on the product and region (FAO, 2011). In developed countries, food waste arises at the consumer stage and concerns food which is processed and ready to eat. In developing countries, food losses occur at the postharvest stages (Godfray et al., 2010) and consumer stage. Thus wastage of food occurs at all stages of the life cycle of food, starting from harvesting, through manufacturing and distributing and finally consumption. This study focuses on food losses and food waste. Food losses take place at production, postharvest and processing stages in the food supply chain (FAO, 2011; WRI, 2013). Food losses occurring at the end of the food chain (retail and final consumption) are rather called “food waste” (Parfitt et al., 2010; WRI, 2013). According to global estimates, on average, from 25% up to even 50% of food is wasted in the food supply chain (Lundqvist et al., 2008). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations posits that the percentage of food wasted corresponds to 30% of the global food production (FAO, 2011), which represents approximately 1.3 billion tons, or almost 190 kg of edible food per person. Per capita waste by consumers is between 95 and 180 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia each throw away only 6–11 kg a year (FAO,