Safeguarding crop diversity begins where it matters most: on the farms and in the landscapes where landraces have been cultivated for generations. This side event will explore why systematic, long-term monitoring of on-farm diversity is essential to understand the conservation status of traditional varieties, detect risks of genetic erosion, and guide effective action.

Monitoring intraspecific diversity in centers of crop origin functions as a “health check” for our agricultural biodiversity. When carried out with semi-standardized methods, this monitoring generates reliable, comparable data that can inform researchers, conservation practitioners, and policymakers alike. The session will bring together diverse actors to share practical experiences on establishing monitoring sites, building baselines, applying tools and protocols, and developing decision-support platforms.

By fostering knowledge exchange and alignment across institutions and communities, this event aims to strengthen a collaborative community of practice dedicated to sustaining agricultural biodiversity and supporting informed conservation and policy decisions.