Cities step into the spotlight at FAO seed treaty talks: LiveSeeding calls on Parties in Lima to back municipal action for cultivated biodiversity

As governments gather in Lima from 24–29 November for the 11th Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the EU-funded LiveSeeding project call on Parties to recognise a key ally in overcoming the current impasse in global seed governance: municipalities.

On 24 November at the Lima Convention Center, LiveSeeding and partners Rete Semi Rurali, Red de Municipios por la Agroecología and ProSpecieRara will host a side event on “Fostering Cultivated Biodiversity through Local Food Policies”, presenting concrete examples from Scandicci in Italy, Geneva in Switzerland, Granollers, Aínsa and Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.

“Lima can mark a turning point,” said Mariano Iossa, LiveSeeding Project Coordinator at FiBL Europe. “While negotiations struggle to reach consensus, municipalities across Europe are already delivering the solutions the Treaty needs—protecting cultivated biodiversity, strengthening farmers’ rights and reconnecting communities with seeds. But they can only scale this work if Parties give them recognition and the policy space, funding and legal certainty they deserve.”

These municipal approaches, developed within LiveSeeding and supported by over 100 European local authorities through the Granollers Manifesto on “Fostering Cultivated Biodiversity in European Municipalities”, show how urban food policies, seed initiatives and community partnerships can make cultivated biodiversity a driver of resilient local food systems.

“Cities like Scandicci, Geneva and Granollers are already investing in community seed banks, municipal gardens and other measures that bring farmers, gardeners and citizens together to promote agriobiodiversity,” said Riccardo Bocci, Director at Rete Semi Rurali. “These models work—and they deserve to be scaled.”

The call comes as the Lima negotiations again attempt to resolve longstanding divisions over access and benefit-sharing, farmers’ rights, and equity in seed systems—issues where local governments are already demonstrating practical, inclusive solutions. Item 12 of the Governing Body’s agenda addresses ‘Conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA in urban and peri-urban food systems’ (IT/GB-11/25/12/Inf.2)“Municipalities can become biodiversity stewards at the heart of their food systems—but only if national frameworks and the Treaty acknowledge their role,” said María Carrascosa, Network of Municipalities for Agroecology.