Mainstreaming Agriculture Biodiversity in Global Value Chains

Mainstreaming Agriculture Biodiversity in Global Value Chains
15 Dec 2025

As global food systems confront escalating climate volatility, nutrition insecurity, and market concentration, agricultural biodiversity has moved from the margins of policy conversations to the center of resilience strategy. The webinar “Mainstreaming Agriculture Biodiversity in Global Value Chains” brings together leading scientists, policymakers, agribusiness leaders, and sustainability practitioners to explore how biodiversity-rich production systems can be integrated into modern, efficiency-driven value chains without compromising commercial viability.

The session examines the critical role of landraces, orphan crops, and genetic diversity in strengthening climate adaptation, improving nutritional outcomes, and reducing input dependencies. Speakers will decode why biodiversity is often undervalued in global trade structures—and how market incentives, digital traceability, certification innovations, and demand-side signalling can help shift the paradigm. From seed systems and regenerative practices to procurement models and corporate sustainability commitments, the conversation outlines pathways to redesign value chains that reward diversity rather than penalise it.

A key focus of the webinar is operationalising biodiversity at scale: developing farmer-led conservation models, creating premium markets for indigenous varieties, safeguarding intellectual property, and forging partnerships between governments, research institutions, and private-sector buyers. Participants will also unpack emerging global frameworks—from carbon markets to nature-positive reporting standards—that are reshaping how biodiversity is measured, valued, and monetised.

Ultimately, the session aims to build a shared understanding of how agriculture biodiversity can transition from a niche sustainability goal to a mainstream business and policy imperative. By aligning science, markets, and governance, the webinar charts a roadmap for embedding biodiversity into the heart of global value chains—ensuring resilience, equity, and long-term competitiveness for producers and consumers alike.

What’s on the table?

1. Reframing Biodiversity as a Business Asset

The webinar opens by repositioning agricultural biodiversity as a strategic lever for climate resilience, supply stability, and product innovation—no longer a conservation add-on but a core operational priority for forward-looking agrifood companies.

2. Integrating Landraces into Global Value Chains

Speakers explore how landraces and underutilised crops can be integrated without compromising scale or quality. From breeding pipelines and decentralised trials to new procurement and contracting models, the panel outlines commercially viable pathways to biodiversity mainstreaming.

3. Aligning Policy with Private Sector Realities

The dialogue examines how national biodiversity missions, ABS regulations, seed laws, and carbon-plus sustainability standards can either unlock or obstruct value chain integration. Policy coherence emerges as a pivotal factor for scaling biodiversity-linked sourcing.

4. Case Studies from Global Agribusinesses

Illustrations from multinationals and emerging-market SMEs showcase how biodiversity is shaping ingredient innovation, premiumisation strategies, regenerative agriculture models, and climate adaptation for smallholder communities.

5. Digital Enablers for Verification and Scale

AI-enabled genomics, remote sensing phenotyping, and blockchain traceability feature prominently as tools that reduce risk, improve provenance verification, and ensure equitable benefit-sharing across supply chains.

5. Financing the Transition

The session outlines what it takes to make biodiversity investible—blended finance structures, corporate procurement incentives, community-led seed systems, and collective action platforms that can move biodiversity from pilots to systemic adoption.

🎯 Key Takeaways

Biodiversity is now a strategic asset, helping companies navigate climate uncertainty, supply chain volatility, and evolving consumer expectations.

1. Commercial scalability is possible

Commercial scalability is possible when landraces are backed by improved breeding, robust traceability, and procurement frameworks tailored to diversity-rich supply chains.

2. Policy alignment is critical

Policy alignment is critical—coherent ABS rules, seed policies, and carbon-plus standards can accelerate biodiversity integration rather than constrain it.

3. Real-world success stories show momentum

Real-world success stories show momentum, with agribusinesses already using biodiversity to drive premium products, nutraceutical innovation, and regenerative agriculture outcomes.

4. Technology is a game-changer

Technology is a game-changer, enabling verifiable provenance, quality assurance, and digital benefit-sharing mechanisms essential for trust and compliance.

5. Investment and incentives must converge

Investment and incentives must converge, with blended finance, corporate commitments, and community seed systems forming the backbone of scalable biodiversity mainstreaming