The U.S. Agency for International Development will bring together experts in food safety next week for a webinar on the topic of enormous importance to farmers in developing countries.

Meeting food safety standards is an increasing constraint to market access for farmers in developing countries. Recent studies show that the global health burden of foodborne disease (FBD) is equivalent to malaria, tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS, which is why the development community needs new approaches to addressing food safety, where risks are pervasive, costs of compliance are high, and enforcement capacity is weak.

Presenters will introduce key food safety issues of concern to agricultural development practitioners. Ahmed Kablan (USAID/BFS) will provide an overview of Feed the Future’s approach to food safety. Jagger Harvey, Director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss, will discuss the growing threat of toxin contamination of a range of crops and integrated approaches to effectively and sustainably address this challenge. Finally, Delia Grace (International Livestock Research Institute) will discuss how stakeholder engagement and incentive-based processes can lead to better food safety outcomes than conventional command and control approaches to regulating food safety.

Register for the session, which will be held form 9:30 to 11 a.m. Eastern Time on July 13, by clicking here.