David King is Secretary General of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) since 1988. He is head of the permanent Secretariat, which is located in Paris, France. It is his responsibility to prepare the policy positions of IFAP, to represent the views of the world’s farmers at international meetings, and to brief member organisations on international developments affecting the well-being and livelihoods of farmers. David King has considerable experience in the areas of: WTO and international trade policy, farm support policy, farmers and the food chain, and agriculture in Asia.

David King has devoted all his professional life to working for farmers.

He started as an Economist for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture in 1973, where he had particular responsibilities for policy analysis and representational work in the livestock sectors.

He took an active part in the operation of the Canadian Milk Supply Management Systems (quota scheme), and he was involved in policy analysis to increase the competitiveness of pork marketing in Canada.

In 1978, David King joined IFAP as Commodities Secretary, and so moved into the International area. He was a founder and the first Secretary of the World Association of Beet and Cane Growers, created in 1981.

In 1988, David King was appointed to the post of Secretary General. As Secretary General, Mr. King has worked to: strengthen the links between IFAP and the main international organisations working in the field of agriculture; strengthen the involvement of developing country farmers’ organisations in IFAP; and strengthen IFAP’s outreach and regional committee structure. He participated on behalf of world farmers in major U.N. Conferences, including the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, and the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996, and the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conferences in Seattle in 1999, in Doha in 2001 and in Cancun in 2003.

Mr. King was born on a farm in England on 4 November 1948. He obtained a degree in Agricultural Economics (BSc Agri. Hons) at the University of London, U.K. in 1971, and a Masters degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Guelph, Canada in 1973. He is married with two children, and has dual nationality – British and Canadian.

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