Agricultural biodiversity is essential to the future of food. A deep pool of biodiversity will ensure that we have plant species and varieties that can withstand changing weather patterns. Agricultural biodiversity is directly connected to global nutrition, dietary health, cultural and culinary diversity, and to the resilience of local economies and markets. Seeds are central to the everyday practices of small-scale farmers that feed 70 per cent of the world’s population.

In order to understand the landscape of initiatives working to advance seed diversity globally, the Global Alliance commissioned a Compendium of Perspectives to illustrate a nuanced discussion on agricultural biodiversity, at times aligned and at times divergent. The majority of experts asked to contribute to this compendium support community based approaches to agricultural biodiversity conservation, a perspective often underappreciated in global discussions and policy circles where more formal, institutional, ex situ approaches have been the primary focus. Community based approaches have been given more voice in this compendium in an effort to bolster their importance and shine a light on their fundamental contribution to sustainable food systems. Many of the contributors to this compendium articulate that an important opportunity is being missed—an opportunity to foster better linkages and partnerships across diverse seed systems and across approaches to agricultural biodiversity. This opportunity aligns well with Global Alliance members’ mandates to support organizations and networks that strengthen community based and farmer centred seed systems.