Six Farming First delegates, which includes four members of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), are attending the UN General Assembly on the MDGs in New York from September 20-22.

Farming First’s David King, from the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), James Borel, from DuPont were invited to speak at the forum.

IFA members present at the Private Sector Forum were Asad Umar from Engro Corp, Jim Prokopanko from Mosaic, Patrick Murphy from IFDC and Stephen Wilkinson from the International Zinc Association (IZA).

Coinciding with the summit, the fertiliser industry has reaffirmed its commitments to the Millennium Development Goals and released a press release.

Three world-leading fertiliser companies are directly contributing to achieving the MDGs by supporting the Millennium Promise and Millennium Village projects:

The Canadian firm Agrium announced this week that it will be increasing its donation to the Millennium Promise from its current US$500,000 to US$1 million in 2011. As part of its commitment, Agrium provides Urea fertiliser and covers the shipment costs to the villages of Sauri, in Kenya, and Pampaida, in Nigeria.

Mosaic, US-based, currently partners with the Millennium villages in Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia, impacting over 300,000 people. The company donates fertiliser and the associated logistics costs through a commitment of US$2.1 million in 2010, and also provides US$400,000 in support of village clusters in Guatemala and India, as well as providing assistance and training in best practice.

Yara International ASA, a Norwegian company, sponsors two Millennium Villages in Kenya and Malawi.