In our previous post we wrote that EC-LLD was heading to the FAO in Rome for the revision of the Global Plan of Action (GPA) for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture – the main international framework guiding how countries conserve and use cultivated diversity. The 13th session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group has now taken place (8–10 July 2026). Here is what came of it.
What we did
Over the past two years EC-LLD has followed this revision step by step, with a simple aim: to bring the voice and experience of seed savers, seed networks and community seed banks into a room where they are rarely heard. In Rome we took the floor to make one central point – that the recognition of community seed banks now in the draft needs to become concrete. Community actors should be involved in national plans, with the skills and resources to take part, working alongside gene banks, researchers and the seed sector, and not as a symbolic presence.
What moved – and what didn’t
There are real openings in the revised text. Community seed banks, absent from the 2011 version, are now mentioned throughout; “farmers’ varieties and landraces” is used consistently; and the Working Group asked for a short summary for policymakers, with examples of good practice that EC-LLD can help to collect. The revision will also be renamed the Third Global Plan of Action, to signal renewed momentum. Importantly, observers – not only Member States – will be able to submit written comments on both the revised Plan and the accompanying study on seed laws, by 15 September. This was a key ask from our side during the session and – thanks to the support of some country delegation – we managed to push that trough.
Why being there mattered
Being present allowed us to build and strengthen relationships. A few weeks earlier, as observers at the Steering Committee of ECPGR – the European network of gene banks – we had met the focal points of many countries; several of the same people were then in Rome, so we arrived already knowing one another. During the session, Germany, on behalf of the European regional group, and Switzerland supported our positions.
These connections matter as much as the wording. We can be more effective in our influencing but it takes resources and time. Showing up, meeting people, and talking to one another.
What’s next
We return with a renewed opportunity to contribute to key documents that will shape the global framework on PGRFA, with stronger relationships, and with a clear task: to submit our written comments by 15 September.
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