et’s Liberate Diversity! Annual meeting
What it is: Since 2005, a European movement for agrobiodiversity has taken shape, driven by the need to address issues related to seeds. This gave birth to the Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum, aimed at the general public, citizens, and professionals, with the goal of promoting exchange among countries and raising awareness on the subject. For this reason, such events are organized every year in different European cities, fostering participatory and active involvement through horizontal learning.
From September 4 to 6, the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! hosted its 14th LLD Forum at the Agricultural Technical Institute of Luxembourg. The event, co-organized by SEED Luxembourg, LUGA, and Seeds4All, once again proved to be a central meeting point for farmers, seed custodians, researchers, policymakers, and activists. This year’s forum unfolded against the backdrop of profound socio-political changes and challenges affecting the future of food sovereignty, seed autonomy, and the resilience of rural areas.
The workshops aimed to foster in-depth discussions, promote strategic alliances, and provide practical solutions to navigate these turbulent times. By bringing together a wide range of actors from across Europe, the forum created a space for reflection, knowledge sharing, and collective action to help build a more resilient and diversified agricultural future.
Our contribution: At this 14th edition, we at Smarties.bio also took part in the Diversity Market, as members of the Italian sister association Rete Semi Rurali. We presented our Gusto Italiano Project, aimed at promoting and safeguarding Italy’s local horticultural heritage and its biodiversity.
We also had the honor of presenting Luxembourg’s Minister of Agriculture, Hansen Martine, with our recipe book “TASTE OF GUSTO ITALIANO”, perfectly aligned with the theme and slogan of the event: “FARM to FORK, SEED to PLATE.” This highlights how seed projects are not ends in themselves, but are deeply connected to food projects!
Many issues were discussed: today the global agricultural sector is under pressure due to environmental crises, economic instability, and political shifts. The rollback of EU green policies and financial uncertainty threaten biodiversity and sustainable food systems. In this context, strengthening local and regional strategies that value small farmers, support dynamic seed exchange networks, and promote agroecological transitions is more crucial than ever.
The workshops of this edition explored these challenges and opportunities through a series of interactive sessions, round tables, and practical demonstrations. Together with participants, we tackled key issues such as the role of small farmers in sowing cultivated biodiversity, the impact of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) on seed sovereignty, and strategies for expanding seed alternatives to strengthen local food systems.
But the forum went beyond intellectual exchange and workshops. The EC-LLD (European Coordination – Let’s Liberate Diversity!), a platform that fosters exchange and promotes action, offered numerous opportunities for networking, collaboration, and relationship-building, enriching everyone’s experience. Indeed, we already had the chance to connect during social dinners and to directly explore the practical applications of dynamic seed management through field visits and seed exchanges.
We thank Gabriele Maneo and Alexandra Baumgartner for the photos.