World Farmers' Organisation and US Dairy Export Council announce strategic partnership
1 May 2024
2 minute read
By: The World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) and the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) have announced a new strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the voice of farmers in global policy processes and multilateral fora and promoting the critical role of livestock, animal-sourced foods and rules-based international trade in delivering sustainable food systems.
Objectives of the partnership include:
- Support a greater representation of farmers and advance joint priorities in areas of common interest in relevant global policy processes and multilateral fora.
- Promote the fundamental role of trade, alongside domestic production, to achieve stronger food security and better nutrition at all levels, including through the development and adoption of science-based international standards and guidelines that work for farmers and support the international trade of agricultural products.
- Elevate focus on food and nutrition security and ensure the centrality of farmers’ needs and interests in the food systems conversation, advocating for a greater recognition of the livestock sector and the major contributions of animal-sourced foods and animal-based products to the social, economic and environmental sustainability of our food systems as well as the protection of dairy and meat terms.
"In recent years, WFO has had the opportunity to work with USDEC in several multilateral contexts , and we witnessed their commitment to a farmer-driven, science-based, and outcome-oriented approach to tackling global challenges that resonates with our values and commitments towards farmers," said Andrea Porro, Secretary General of the World Farmers' Organisation. "The formalisation of our partnership provides a framework to further our cooperation and highlights our shared goal of contributing to the transition towards resilient, sustainable, and inclusive food systems, with the experiences and needs of farmers at their core."
"With the world facing the simultaneous crises of increasing nutrition insecurity and climate change, now is the time for a partnership like the one USDEC signed today," added Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council. "This collaboration with WFO will bring our organisations together to support effective global policy frameworks informed by farmers."
