Let's Liberate Diversity
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Communities seed banks

Communities seed banks

Community seed banks are essential repositories of diverse and locally adapted seeds. At EC-LLD, we recognize the vital role of community seed banks in the dynamic management of agricultural biodiversity and in safeguarding our food heritage. Our focus is on supporting community seed banks across Europe, empowering local communities to preserve and share traditional and locally adapted crop varieties. We foster collaboration and networking among community seed banks, facilitating the exchange of experiences, best practices, and seeds. Through our platform, community members can connect with one another, share knowledge, and strengthen their collective efforts in preserving and promoting agricultural biodiversity.

Projects

LiveSeeding logo
LiveSeeding logo

Community Seed Banks Accademy

Community seed banks have been founded since the early 1980th in many parts of the world.

Dynaversity

ECLLD participates as a partner in the H2020 Dynaversity project, below the description from www.dynaversity.eu 

News

PGR management in farmers seed network in Europe and China

PGR management in farmers seed network in Europe and China

EC-LLD recently participated in an online event hosted by Pro Specie Rara, one of our members, to welcome a Chinese delegation at their headquarters in Switzerland. This was a significant step in our ongoing efforts to strengthen international collaboration and exchange knowledge on biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.

FAO resources on millets

FAO resources on millets

Millets are resilient plants: they can grow on arid land with minimal inputs in changing climates. All resources created during IYM2023 are now available online

Seed diversity in the EU: what is it all about?

Seed diversity in the EU: what is it all about?

Swedish agrobiodiversity activist Sivert Stiernebro has been conducting an educational campaign on the significance of seed diversity for farming and the impact of EU legislation on the availability of diverse seed. Sivert is keen to take his message to a wider audience and looking for local activists to help him share it far and wide.

EU agrobiodiversity conservation at risk

EU agrobiodiversity conservation at risk

While an improvement on the EU Commission’s draft, the EU Parliament resolutions to be put into law still fail to support agrobiodiversity conservation. But there is still time for EU Member States to act.

FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub Digest

FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub Digest

Read the April 2024 issue of the FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub Digest, a taster of the insights into the world of agroecology that you could receive via email

APBREBES Newsletter #62

APBREBES Newsletter #62

The April 2024 issue of the APBREBES newsletter is published on their website. Topics: UPOV and smallholder rights, NGTS and EU regulation.

Hot Water Treatments to Sanitize Vegetable Seeds

Hot Water Treatments to Sanitize Vegetable Seeds

Liveseeding hosted a 3h webinar entitled "Hot Water Treatments to Sanitize Vegetable Seeds" on Tuesday, March 26th, co-organised by Bingenheimer Saatgut AG (DE), the French Organic Food and Farming Institute (ITAB, FR) and the European Coordination Let's Liberate...

The Nagoya Protocol and nitrogen-fixing maize

Paper discussing a case of piracy of nitrogen fixing maize germplasm from Indigenous communities and more generally the implications of the Nagoya Protocol for access and benefit-sharing (ABS) agreements related to genetic resources and biodiversity.

Radicchio: a success story of culinary breeding

Radicchio: a success story of culinary breeding

The Culinary Breeding Network organizes activities to inspire connection and collaboration throughout the food system, in order to improve plant breeding for organic farming. Among these activities was a trip to Italy, visiting the places where radicchio – the most famous form of plant Chicorium intybus – originates from.

Seeding tomorrow

Seeding tomorrow

The Gaia Foundation Seed Sovereignty Programme published a video looking at Irish growers who, amongst the chaos of Brexit and climate change, are chasing security and hope for the future by returning to growing and saving seed. Seeds and people have shaped each other...

Press Release: Launch of the European Network of Agroecological Food Systems

Press Release: Launch of the European Network of Agroecological Food Systems

The European Network for Agroecological Food Systems (ENAF) is the outcome of Horizon 2020 project Agroecology for Europe (AE4EU). It was launched at the end of January 2023 with the objective to connect and complement the work of existing networks in Europe. ENAF is actively looking for co-founders, participants and friends.

Which seeds for a just transition to agroecological and sustainable food systems?

Which seeds for a just transition to agroecological and sustainable food systems?

MEPs Martin Häusling and Sarah Wiener MEP, in collaboration with diversity advocates Arche Noah, organised a presentation for the political study ‘Which seeds for a just transition to agroecological and sustainable food systems?’ in connection with the ongoing EU reform of seeds marketing rules. Members of ECLLD sat on the panel to discuss the future of seed diversity.

Bringing diversity to Fields with Heritage Grains

Bringing diversity to Fields with Heritage Grains

Today’s food production is dependent on a small number of crops. By bringing old varieties back to the fields, the diversity of crops can be increased on farms. A Finnish projects shows that the special raw materials that are old seed varieties can bring economic value as food and associated services.

Cycling Seeds: a journey of discovery into traditional seed management from Italy to Iran

Cycling Seeds: a journey of discovery into traditional seed management from Italy to Iran

Eléonore Mahée, a 28 year-old French agricultural engineer, is cycling from Italy to Iran to explore traditional seed management in a project called Cycling Seeds.
Five months into her journey, having visited Italy, Albania, Greece, Turkey and Georgia, Eléonore takes us through her learnings, sharing some insights about the conservation of traditional seeds and cultivated biodiversity.

FiBL: Visiting Friends of Agrobiodiversity Across Europe

FiBL: Visiting Friends of Agrobiodiversity Across Europe

“To get to know this diversity better, we take you on a journey through Europe from north to south, visiting the pioneers of organic plant and animal breeding.
With their diverse and unique activities, they are contributing, not only to ecological, but also to societal resilience. “

SAVE the DATE and join the 11th European Forum for agrobiodiversity, the Let’s Liberate Diversity!

SAVE the DATE and join the 11th European Forum for agrobiodiversity, the Let’s Liberate Diversity!

The first edition of the forum took place in 2005 in Poitiers, France, and since then 10 editions have been organised in different European countries. The aim of these events has been to develop the issue of agricultural diversity by linking the work and experiences of the different actors involved, including public awareness, and promoting a horizontal and participatory dissemination of knowledge and expertise.

Catalogue of varieties: the sowing season is open!

Catalogue of varieties: the sowing season is open!

Find diversity here! Browse through the varieties and get inspired for your garden and your kitchen. You will find access to seeds and plant material for more than 4700 varieties that are in ProSpecieRara hands. From the ‘Swedish Blue’ potato to the ‘Grape’ apple and the parsnip: discover this diversity and contribute to its preservation!

ECLLD participation in the 2nd International Congress on Agrobiodiversity

ECLLD participation in the 2nd International Congress on Agrobiodiversity

Let’s Liberate Diversity! presented an abstract at the 2nd International Congress on Agrobiodiversity. During the “Scientific Symposium session: Integrated Conservation and Use of Agrobiodiversity”, ECLLD showed the impact that LLD and LCD events have on the conservation and use of agrobiodiversity to change our seed and food systems

SPD#6: UNDROP, Farmers’ rights to seeds and biodiversity

SPD#6: UNDROP, Farmers’ rights to seeds and biodiversity

To discuss policy developments that affect crop diversity movements, the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity (ECLLD) has launched a series of virtual Seed Policy Dialoguers, in October 2021, the meeting focused on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and People living in rural areas (UNDROP)

GenRes Gateway: A crowd-sourced platform for genetic resources

GenRes Gateway: A crowd-sourced platform for genetic resources

Europe’s path to a platform for genetic resources from different domains. The GenRes Bridge project -H2020- launches the GenRes Gateway portal to support breeders, researchers, journalists, policy makers on data and information on genetic resources. All stakeholders are invited to register.

A European network for agricultural biodiversity

A European network for agricultural biodiversity

Over the past four years, the partners of the European DYNAVERSITY project have analysed and described the networks and actors involved in the dynamic management of agrobiodiversity. The main objective is the consolidation and enlargement of the on-farm network...

Fundus Agri-Cultura Alpina for “montagna”

Fundus Agri-Cultura Alpina for “montagna”

“Fundus Agri-Cultura Alpina” is an information platform on traditional agriculture in the Alpine region. Based on the principles of Wikipedia, it collects and makes available to the public knowledge about the traditional cultivation of crops and the keeping of farm animals in the Alpine region. The aim is to help preserve this priceless heritage, promote biological and cultural diversity and thus contribute to the resilience of the Alpine region.

DYNAVERSITY Final Conference

DYNAVERSITY Final Conference

We would like to formally invite you to save the date for the Final Conference of the H2020 project DYNAVERSITY (DYNAmic seed networks for managing European diversity), which will take place virtually on Tuesday 20th April 2021, from 09:00...

Seed Networks

Seed Networks

Politics, scientific research, knowledge, marketing, access to diversity: these are the 5 main areas in which seed networks operate. How? And what is the meaning of “farmer seed network”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o6g31e5nLg This video is part of 10 video...

SEED POLICY DIALOGUE

SEED POLICY DIALOGUE

What does the next seed law reform foresee? Which is the vision of the agroecological movements and actors?  SEED POLICY DIALOGUE begins, once a month exchange with lawyer Fulya Batur and EC-LLD Members to analyse the Sprouts From...

ECLLD-NEWS! February

ECLLD-NEWS! February

Europe - It's time to exchange seeds, what initiatives are there in your country? Within what legal framework is it possible to act? How can we have organic varieties and how is the organic plant breeding status? KWANN-Norwegian Seed Savers organized a...

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review

From 1992 to 2014, economic capital per capita (wealth) doubled and human capital per capita (the set of skills acquired) increased by 13 per cent, while natural capital per capita (comprising soil, geology, air, water and all living organisms) declined by almost 40...

Seed Saving for Local Adaptation

Seed Saving for Local Adaptation

The Norwegian Seed Savers will soon be hosting a webinar on Seed Saving for Local Adaptation with Dr. Bradley Tonnesen, who comes recommended courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance.  Dr. Bradley Tonnesen holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Colorado State...

Peliti & Olympic Seed Festival 2021

Peliti & Olympic Seed Festival 2021

The 21th Peliti Seed Festival will take place in Greece, at the land of Peliti in Mesochori Paranesti, Drama Prefecture Greece, on Saturday, September 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 15:00 p.m. It is with great pleasure that we invite you at the...

2021 SEED LIST – Heritage Seed Library

2021 SEED LIST – Heritage Seed Library

The Heritage Seed Library (HSL) aims to conserve vegetable varieties that are not widely available. We are not a gene bank and all of our collection, once we have enough seed, will become available for our members to grow and enjoy. The collection consists of mainly...

(B)rèves de semences, le podcast ! Episode 2

(B)rèves de semences, le podcast ! Episode 2

Since 2003, the RSP has been bringing together groups of french farmers, gardeners and other seed practitioners around the issues of cultivated biodiversity and autonomy. In this rather special period, deprived of many opportunities to meet, we have chosen to let you...

Agro-Perma-Lab SEEDS Training ONLINE

Agro-Perma-Lab SEEDS Training ONLINE

“Agro-Perma-Lab: SEEDS” 2021 Training is an online training series of 10 thematic modules for educators, social activists and community leaders in agroecology and permaculture from the Food Sovereignty Network in Poland and, by extension in English, in...

Day One at ORFC Global 2021!

Day One at ORFC Global 2021!

The ORFC - Oxford Real Farming Conference is at day one and are planned many interesting seminars. EC-LLD will partecipate on Monday 11th at "Bringing Communities Together Through Seed: A Discussion and Planning Session for Community Seed Banks, Seed Libraries and...

It’s released EC-LLD! / News n. 9 – DECEMBER

It’s released EC-LLD! / News n. 9 – DECEMBER

Read and subscribe to the Newsletter of the month of December, lots of information from all over Europe about agrobiodiversity! Here the link, https://mailchi.mp/31bb657385a3/eclld-news-followtheactivities-9461221

EC-LLD / News! November 2020

EC-LLD / News! November 2020

The work of strengthening and enlarging the European Coordination Let's Liberate Diversity! continues. There is the need and the space to network actors dealing with seed diversity, seed systems and seed policies for an agro-ecological...

To register or not to register, that is the question

To register or not to register, that is the question

Sharing views and experiences around the registration of farmers’ varieties Webinar co-organized by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and Oxfam NetherlandsDATE: Tuesday, 10 November 2020TIME: 14:00 – 15:30 (UTC+01:00)> REGISTER HERE <...

PRESS RELEASE: IFOAM on CAP

PRESS RELEASE: IFOAM on CAP

CAP ‘REFORM’: PARLIAMENT’S SMALL STEPS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR A GREEN TRANSFORMATION OF FOOD AND FARMING BRUSSELS, 23 OCTOBER 2020 – This week, Members of the European Parliament voted on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and Agriculture Ministers...

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

It is with much gratitude that we announce the entry of 3 new members. Our friends from ARCHE NOAH (Austria), Heritage Seed Library (UK) and KVANN (Norway) have joined the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! ARCHE NOAH is currently housing one of the...

From Seed to Seed

From Seed to Seed

From Seed to Seed is a series of 40 short films allowing anyone to learn how to produce vegetable seeds. It provides the basics of theory and practice, an ABC of seed production and shows all the necessary steps for producing seeds of 32 vegetable species. From Seed...

Seeds4All

Seeds4All

The European census platform dedicated to seed diversity and availability. Discover the launch of a new project aiming to raise awareness of the available seed diversity in Europe, contributing to picture the many actors involved, as a precious, thriving and dynamic...

Magház: the hungarian civil seed network

Magház: the hungarian civil seed network

Hungarian language but universal images: have a look at the beautiful seeds in this video realized in Szeged by the civil seed network Magház in collaboration with #DYNAVERSITY.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKiEgsbesWY&app=desktop

‘2020 call for applications of the CSB Academy’

IMPORTANT POINTS The CSB Academy accepts training proposals from community seed banks, related NGO’s and seed initiatives from European Region Thematic Areas 2020: Subjects mentioned below are given priority but applications are not limited to these subjects: Climate...

Annual report 2019 – Informe 2019

Annual report 2019 – Informe 2019

Red de Resiembra e Intercambio de variedades locales de cultivo, share the the Annual Report (SPA) It's available also the Caracterización de los bancos de semillas comunitarios en el Estado español done by the RAS within DIVERSIFOOD project.  

À la recherche des semences de demain | ARTE Regards

À la recherche des semences de demain | ARTE Regards

High-performance seeds used in the food industry and monoculture are a threat to the diversity of our fruit, vegetable and cereal varieties. In 100 years, we have lost 80% of cultivated species! To the great displeasure of farmers, horticulturists and scientists, who...

Cereals, renaissance in the field!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuAduRqbEjk Farmers, scientists, bakers and processors, local communities, discerning consumers: the protagonists of a movement that has embraced a major challenge, that of changing agricultural practice. By carrying out research and...

INVITATION  Assemblée Générale du RMRM

INVITATION Assemblée Générale du RMRM

The seed network Meuse Rhin Moselle (RMRM) organizes its GA on Thursday, March 5th from 9:30 am to 5 pm (at Nature&Progrès).   The GA will be followed by an aperitif. This GA is more than a formal moment of the network, it is the moment to develop together...

Organic Seed Growers Conference

Organic Seed Growers Conference

February 12-15, 2020 | Corvallis, Oregon The conference is the largest event focused solely on organic seed in North America, bringing together hundreds of farmers, plant breeders, researchers, certifiers, food companies, seed companies, and others from across the...

LOCAL SEEDS: THE KEY TO SURVIVAL

LOCAL SEEDS: THE KEY TO SURVIVAL

The future of our agriculture and food depends as much on diversity as on seeds. The "Semillas de Identidad" campaign, supported by SWISSAID, ensures that seeds in Colombia and Nicaragua remain in the hands of farmers and that diversity is preserved. Voir la brochure...

ECPGR :Information Bulletin no. 18 – 17 October 2019

This electronic (email) bulletin is prepared by the ECPGR Secretariat to the attention of the National Coordinators and of general interest, to provide regular updates on its activities and relevant developments in ECPGR.  On-line bulletin 

Workshops at the 10th LLD!

Workshops at the 10th LLD!

The European Coordination Let's Liberate Diversity! is organizing two workshops at the next 10th LLD, one on EU networks and another on seed systems.      French Version

10th European Forum Let’s Liberate Diversity!

10th European Forum Let’s Liberate Diversity!

Tenth edition of the Forum organized by the European Coordination Let's Liberate Diversity!   After nine editions organised in as many different European countries, the LLD! Forum returns to France where it was organised for the first time in 2005.    ...

Organic World Congress – Call for Contributions!!

Organic World Congress – Call for Contributions!!

All contributions must be submitted via the online platform by September 30, 2019, except Pre-conference applications, to be submitted by June 28, 2019.  Read more for more info about the gathering.       Plenary sessions of the Organic World...

Need fo Seed

Need fo Seed

SEED is pleased to send you the first newsletter of the year. You will find an overview of upcoming activities, information on where and when to find SEED seeds and how to further support SEED's cause. Click Here

Carrefour : merci Patron ! – Press release from RSP

Carrefour : merci Patron ! – Press release from RSP

  Réseau Semences Paysannes, Aiguillon, le 29 octobre 2018 Un an après « Le Marché Interdit », Carrefour récidive par une nouvelle campagne « Act for food » : affichant un partenariat étroit avec la société civile, le groupe ambitionne de devenir « le leader...

Ecpgr: the final activity report

Ecpgr: the final activity report

We are pleased to inform you that the final Activity report for LINKAGES has been published online.   It is included in the publications database http://www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/resources/ecpgr-publications  and also available directly from the LINKAGES...

Organic Seed Alliance

Organic Seed Alliance

Last year, OSA’s programs resulted in more research projects, educational events, and advocacy initiatives than ever before...  Report Organic Seed Alliance 2017   We trained hundreds of seed growers and other seed advocates in the field, classroom, and via...

DYNAVERSITY

DYNAVERSITY

To understand and disseminate DYNAVERSITY, where the European Coordination - LLD it's involved, here you can download the brochure of the project! English: DYNAVERSITY EN.pdf Italian: DYNAVERSITY IT.pdf

Contributions for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights

Contributions for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights

Invitation to present experiences, good practices and examples of practices aimed at the implementation of Article 9 of the International Treaty on the Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources in Agriculture at national level. Contributions must be received by June 30th...