Communities and Government Join Forces in Popayán to Protect and Promote Colombia’s Creole and Native Seeds

Bogotá, Capital District. November 4, 2025. With a call to protect life beginning with the seed, the National Gathering of Seed Custodians and Guardians of Creole and Native Seeds was held in Popayán. This space fostered a dialogue between Indigenous, peasant, and Afro-Colombian communities and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), as well as Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria (AGROSAVIA), around the actions needed to protect and promote Colombia’s native and creole seeds.

The event, held on October 29 and 30, was part of the compliance with Constitutional Court Sentence T-247 of 2023, particularly within the framework of Orders 3 and 4, which mandate the State to adopt effective measures to protect creole and native seeds, recognizing their value as the biocultural heritage of peoples and their fundamental role in the country’s food sovereignty.

During the gathering, more than a hundred custodians and guardians from various regions of the country shared their seeds, experiences, and knowledge. Through harmonization rituals, flavor fairs, and exchange sessions, the communities reaffirmed that defending seeds means defending life, culture, and the identity of their territories.

“These spaces have helped us as a community to strengthen our knowledge, since across different peoples of Colombia we have shared knowledge through community networks, where there is both traditional and technical wisdom about how to cultivate our creole and native seeds in our territories,” said Fabián Trochez from the seed network.

Joint Work for Life and Biodiversity

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, AGROSAVIA, the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC, for its Spanish acronym), and the AVSF support group for comprehensive rural reform in Colombia led the logistical and technical coordination of the event, ensuring the participation of custodian communities, seed networks, and social organizations. The institutions emphasized the importance of carrying out joint actions with the peoples and territories involved in the court sentence, the Agro-biodiversity Alliance, and national networks of native and creole seeds, so that seeds in Colombia are recognized as common goods.

For its part, AGROSAVIA reaffirmed its commitment to provide technical support to communities and to strengthen participatory research focused on the conservation, recovery, production, and sustainable use of creole seeds.

“This joint work shows that science and ancestral knowledge, through agreements, can walk together for the care of agrobiodiversity,” stated Julio Ramírez, Head of the Seed Department, during the event.

 

Results and Commitments

The gathering resulted in the formulation of the Manifesto for Creole and Native Seeds, a document that compiles commitments and guidelines to advance in their protection, conservation, and free exchange. In addition, contributions were defined for the development of the Public Policy on Native and Creole Seeds, which will allow institutional and community efforts to be coordinated across the country.

The event concluded with a fair of seeds, flavors, and knowledge, where participants showcased their products and shared traditional knowledge with the community and other guardians and custodians.

 

A Shared Commitment

The National Gathering of Custodians and Guardians of Creole and Native Seeds was more than an event. It was a living manifestation of joint work between communities, government, and science. In Popayán, it was reaffirmed that protecting seeds is protecting life itself, water, forests, and the country’s food sovereignty.

MADR, AGROSAVIA, and the ten peoples involved in Sentence T-247, together with Colombia’s seed guardians and custodians, reaffirmed their commitment and the need to continue working collaboratively and in coordination to ensure that creole seeds remain free, diverse, and a source of future for Colombia.