Press and News The Alliance and World Farmers Markets Coalition partner to connect science, biodiversity and local markets for more resilient food systems
Nairobi, Kenya, 8 October 2026 – The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (Alliance) and the World Farmers Markets Coalition (WorldFMC) have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to combine research, evidence and global market networks in support of more diverse, inclusive and resilient local food systems.
Signed during WorldFMC’s Fourth General Assembly in Nairobi, the agreement creates a framework to turn science and shared knowledge into practical approaches for farmers’ markets, short supply chains and the communities they serve.
The partnership links the Alliance’s science on agrobiodiversity, food environments, inclusive markets and food-system transformation with WorldFMC’s network of more than 28,000 farmers’ markets in over 80 countries, representing more than 330,000 farming families. Together, the organizations aim to strengthen the evidence, capacities and connections needed for local markets to support farmer livelihoods, conserve agricultural diversity and improve access to healthy, locally produced food. For the Alliance, this collaboration also aligns with its 2026–2030 Strategy, which connects agrobiodiversity, inclusive food economies, healthy diets and investment as mutually reinforcing pathways for food and land systems transformation.
From research to markets: a platform for joint action
Over an initial three-year period, the partnership will focus on six complementary areas where the Alliance’s research capabilities and WorldFMC’s market network can generate practical value:
- Sustainable local food systems: strengthening farmers markets, short food supply chains and local food networks as channels for resilient livelihoods and access to diverse foods.Agrobiodiversity and genetic resources: promoting the conservation and sustainable use of traditional crops, local varieties, while recognising the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
- Capacity development and technical assistance: co-developing training, peer learning, exchanges and technical support for farmers, market organizations and other food-system actors.
- Research, data and knowledge sharing: generating and sharing evidence on how farmers’ markets contribute to biodiversity, livelihoods, nutrition and resilient local food economies.
- International cooperation and joint projects: developing collaborative projects and resource-mobilization opportunities with governments, multilateral organizations, research institutions and civil society.
- Policy dialogue and awareness: bringing research evidence and farmers’ market experience into policy conversations on sustainable agriculture, nutrition, biodiversity and equitable food systems, supported by joint events and communication activities.
Specific activities will be developed jointly and formalized through dedicated agreements, allowing both organizations to translate the framework into targeted research, capacity-development and policy initiatives in different regions and market contexts.
“Farmers' markets are where many of the priorities in our Strategy come together: biodiversity, livelihoods, healthy diets and inclusive local economies. Through this partnership, we can connect the Alliance’s science with WorldFMC’s reach and the experience of market communities, so that evidence moves more quickly into practice and local solutions can inform research, policy and investment,” said Gianpiero Menza, Senior Manager, Business Development & Diversification, at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.
Gianpiero Menza
Senior Manager, Partnerships & Innovative Finance“Local food systems are increasingly recognised as an essential part of the response to some of the major challenges facing our food systems. Farmers markets give these systems a tangible presence in communities, creating opportunities for family farmers while keeping value, knowledge and food closer to where people live. This agreement with the Alliance is an opportunity to strengthen that role through international cooperation, research and shared experience." said Richard McCarthy, President of the World Farmers Markets Coalition.
Richard McCarthy
Richard McCarthy, President of the World Farmers Markets CoalitionAbout the Alliance
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions at the intersection of food, climate and biodiversity. Its 2026–2030 Strategy, Resilient Futures: Urgent Science for Food and Land Systems Transformation, focuses on five interconnected outcomes: unleashed agrobiodiversity; future-proofed farms and landscapes; inclusive food economies; healthy diets for all; and leveraged financing and investment for impact. Since 2020, Alliance science-based innovations have reached 10 million people, improved 6 million hectares of land, informed 1,900 policies and helped inform USD 280 million in investments for more sustainable food systems.
The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.
About the World Farmers Markets Coalition
The World Farmers Markets Coalition (WorldFMC) is an international non-profit association under Italian law committed to promoting sustainable local food systems by supporting and strengthening farmers markets and short supply chains around the world. Through research, capacity building, international cooperation and policy engagement, WFMC promotes biodiversity, family farming, agroecological practices and food sovereignty, placing farmers, consumers and communities at the centre of the food value chain.
Today, the WorldFMC network speaks for more than 28,000 markets in over 80 countries, with more than 100 member associations representing 330,000 farming families and over 400 million consumers worldwide.
