The secretariat

Under the direction of the Director General, the Secretariat:

• carries out the work requested by the different bodies of the Association, within the policy framework set out by the Council,
• organizes conferences and meetings,
• assembles and analyzes information which is distributed to all members and/or is used to answer requests for information,
• prepares and distributes publications.

In addition to the permanent secretariats for the Technical, Production and International Trade and Agriculture Committees, the Secretariat includes Administrative, Conference and Information and Communications Services.

List of IFA's staff

Administrative Service

The Administrative Service is responsible for managing the budget on a daily basis and supports the Finance Committee. This service also oversees the logistical operations of the Secretariat, including human resources.

Conference Service

The Conference Service is responsible for organizing the Association's conferences, seminars and meetings. These events offer IFA members the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and information.

The Annual Conference is held on the occasion of the IFA Annual General Meeting. Participants include chief executives and senior management representatives from member companies of the Association.

Towards the end of the year, members of the IFA Council and chief executives of ordinary member companies meet at the statutory Enlarged Council Meeting, during which the budget for the coming year is adopted and the situation and outlook for the fertilizer industry are examined.

The Technical Committee holds a conference every other year to examine progress in the production technology of fertilizers and their intermediates and related issues, such as environment and safety aspects.

The Production and International Trade Committee holds an annual conference to provide information on the supply and international trade aspects of raw materials, intermediates and finished fertilizers.

At the request of members, the Agriculture Committee organizes various meetings on economic or agronomic subjects.

IFA also organizes regional conferences, such as the annual IFA Crossroads Asia-Pacific conference and occasional events for other world regions.

Information and Communications Service

The Information and Communications Service assembles, publishes and distributes information on all aspects of the mineral fertilizer industry and the use of its products, on a worldwide basis. The information is obtained from members of the Association, international organizations, trade and news media, relevant publications, the internet and other sources, often gathered through the work of the committees.

Papers presented at IFA and other conferences provide an important additional source of information.The service responds, as fully as resources permit, to enquiries and requests for information from non-members; increasingly such information is available for consultation via the IFA web site.

The service is responsible for ensuring that the Association's overall communications strategy and activities fully support the goals laid out by the Council. In this context, this service also ensures general external relations.