The International Agri-Food Network has been elected to coordinate the Private Sector Mechanism (PSM) at the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome. In addition, IAFN will be a member of the Global Business Alliance for Sustainable Development by 2030. IAFN works collaboratively with the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Farming First coalition, and consults with an array of other associations and companies that have expressed interest in the work of the UN Committee on World Food Security. The primary purpose of the IAFN is to define and deliver the private sector’s commitment to addressing global poverty and food security. The IAFN has defined five key principles as the framework of this commitment.

• Make agriculture an engine for development;

• Support entrepreneurship and private enterprise;

• Establish a conducive operating environment to add value to agriculture;

• Further research, development, and extension services;

• Capture the power of partnerships.

The International Agri-Food Network brings together eighteen international organizations, which include thousands of international companies, and hundreds of national associations which represent tens of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), thousands of co-operatives, and millions of farmers. 

The associations, which comprise the Network, have members in 135 of the 193 countries in the UN. Participation in IAFN is open to any business association representing a sector in the agri-food chain at the global level, as well as national farmer organizations.