Working Together, Internationally, We Can Build Rome Too

Written by: Leah Wilkinson   |   September 29, 2022

Trade, Standards

Walking around Rome last week while attending the 21st annual meeting of the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), I contemplated the complexity of the city and all the history laying there, beneath or above ground, and the effort it took to build and now maintain the city.  

In Rome, something as simple as digging a hole to plant a tree could lead to discovering an ancient ruin, a thought that never crosses my mind here in the United States! Yet, here I was, in Rome, discussing the IFIF and FAO activities to provide safe, nutritious and sustainable feed and food around the world, and I realized how important it was for the American Feed Industry Association to be a part of this effort.  

IFIF is a trade association representing national and regional feed associations from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, North and South America and the Middle East, as well as feed-related organizations and corporate members from around the globe. IFIF’s members represent 80% of global compound feed production coming together to address common issues impacting the feed industry. The AFIA is a founding member of IFIF and is active in the executive committee, board of directors and several committees.  

The longstanding partnership between IFIF and FAO was reaffirmed during the meeting with confirmation of our common goals. Thanawat Tiensin, director of animal production and health at the FAO, discussed the importance of the public-private collaboration between FAO and IFIF and confirmed the joint work to “promote sustainable, resilient, inclusive and efficient livestock transformation.”  

But what does that mean, and how do IFIF and AFIA assist with this partnership in practice?  

IFIF supports many FAO initiatives, such as the Livestock Environmental Assessment Performance (LEAP) Partnership, the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock, capacity building and training of the feed sector and regulators around the world, and addressing emerging issues that threaten food safety (e.g., antimicrobial resistance). Through our IFIF membership, the AFIA is active in many of these areas via our involvement with the sustainability committee, regulatory committee and various working groups.  

The updated FAO and IFIF Manual on Good Practices for the Feed Sector takes guidelines established from Codex Alimentarius, the international food safety standard setting body, and puts them into practical advice for the feed industry. The AFIA worked with IFIF and FAO to translate this publication into Vietnamese to assist in our efforts to implement market access and development programs for the U.S. animal food industry into the country.   

During the meeting, the FAO asked for assistance on biosecurity guidelines for the feed industry to mitigate the transmission of animal viruses via feed and feed delivery. The AFIA and IFIF are exploring the best way to make this happen, given several country guidelines exist from the relevant feed associations. This would be an excellent opportunity for the AFIA to share our knowledge and expertise to the global feed industry to provide better biosecurity of our facilities and products.  

And, just how Rome was not built in a day, we know that it takes time and effort to find the solutions to maintain our safe, secure and sustainable global food supply. I am happy the AFIA is part of the IFIF team and for the continued partnership between IFIF and the FAO to work together to address these common challenges and lead the global feed industry into the next future.