Articles by Adèle Pautrat

About Adèle Pautrat

With a degree in political science and international cooperation, Adèle Pautrat has developed an expertise on agro-ecological transition and agrobiodiversity issues, while working as a coordinator for the Belgian NGO Artemisia. She is now in charge of the integration of the Seeds4all project in the scope of work of ARC2020, also providing iconography missions for the NGO. As a second activity, Adèle works as a freelance photographer.

Diplômée d'un double master en sciences politiques et coopération internationale, Adèle Pautrat a développé une expertise sur les questions de transition agro-écologique et d'agrobiodiversité en travaillant comme coordinatrice de l'association internationale sans but lucratif Artemisia. Elle est aujourd'hui coordinatrice du projet Seeds4all piloté par ARC2020 ; association pour laquelle elle assure en parallèle des missions de photographe, sa deuxième activité.

How to Cultivate Knowledge for Seed Autonomy? Part 2 – From Niche Knowledge to Collective Capacity

April 24, 2026 Adèle Pautrat

The loss of knowledge around seed diversity has become so pervasive that its very absence seems to go unnoticed. Yet seed stewardship has always been inherent to working with agriculture and food; reintroducing this concept is crucial in building capacity for agroecological seed systems at regional levels. In this second of a two-part series, we examine the tools and approaches that could strengthen the transmission of alternative seed knowledge and know-how, as well as the pitfalls to avoid in order to ensure their social and economic relevance. By Adèle Pautrat. […]

How to Cultivate Knowledge for Seed Autonomy? Part 1 – Who Teaches the Seeds?

March 27, 2026 Adèle Pautrat

Seeds are rarely seen for what they truly are: the building blocks of agricultural systems that determine how our food is produced. This is no accident. It is the result of industry taking control, progressively turning seeds into just another input in service of a growth model built on privatisation, standardisation, and homogenisation—with seeds at the hub. Reintroducing this concept is crucial in building capacity for agroecological seed systems at regional levels. But how to challenge the dominant approach to seed practices, and bring alternative knowledge to a wider audience? First of a two-part series by Adèle Pautrat. […]

Whats Seeds for Tomorrow? A Podcast Mini-Series by Seeds4All and Seed Carriers

November 20, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

The Seeds4All project has long been working to understand how the EU regulatory framework on seeds and cultivated biodiversity impacts the daily reality of agroecological seed and food operators. Europe is now at a decisive turning point. The rules that govern our seeds are being rewritten as we speak, with powerful forces seeking to tighten their grip on seed and food production. Efforts must be accelerated to amplify what the European agroecological seed movement is bringing to the future of our food, and how it should be urgently supported by both EU and local decision makers. With that purpose in mind, Seeds4All joined forces with SEED CARRIERS to produce the mini audio series WHAT SEEDS FOR TOMORROW? […]

Where The Untended Feeds Us – Cécile Gilquin’s “Tiers-Paysage”

October 24, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

“All the places neglected by human beings”: this is the site of the Third Landscape (Tiers-Paysage) as defined by Gilles Clément in his Manifesto of the Third Landscape. Cécile Gilquin was drawn to this concept that celebrates the neglected — those plants that we too often forget to appreciate — as “biological diversity that has not yet been classified as richness”, while also showing that it is possible to interact with nature without seeking to dominate it. She was inspired to launch in 2020 her own Third Landscape (or Tiers-Paysage in her native French). Portrait of a forager by Adèle Pautrat. […]

Re-Sowing the Seeds of Connection in Switzerland, Part II – Healthy Interdependencies, Led By Farmers

September 2, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

In a global context marked by rising trade tensions, identity-based isolationism, and climate pressures, the Seeds4All project wanted to understand how Switzerland, landlocked at the heart of the European Union, approaches the challenges of food sovereignty and navigates its many borders. During recent fields visits, we met a variety of initiatives seeking to reconnect producers, processors, and consumers—fostering a renewed sense of control over food systems. Part two of a series of reflections by Adèle Pautrat. […]

Crafting the Collective – Tijs Boelens’ Vision for a Farmer-Led Grain Revival

July 4, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

If we want local food systems to thrive, every link in the chain must be nurtured: seeds must be saved, farmers must earn a fair price, processors must adapt their methods—and consumers must be able to afford to buy the final product. Crafting a story and connecting people are centrally important to successfully cultivating biodiversity, as Belgian farmer Tijs Boelens has found out in his work to integrate heritage grains into the supply chain. Portrait by Adèle Pautrat. […]

Re-Sowing the Seeds of Connection in Switzerland, Part I – Nurturing What We Have

July 3, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

The Seeds4All project emerges from a Swiss immersion with a two-part reflection on how seeds can become anchoring points for rebuilding connections and fostering healthy interdependencies in the pursuit of collective empowerment. In part one, we discover efforts to revive local fava bean varieties—as levers for reweaving ties between mountains and plains, and reclaiming traditional peasant skills. […]

The EU Has the Funds but Lacks Focus – This Farm Shows What’s Possible with Both

June 10, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

Organic farming has long been hailed as the poster child for sustainable agriculture. But as the EU organic sector becomes increasingly industrialised, cracks are beginning to appear. How can we weed out the weaknesses in the current model and transition to diversified, resilient systems? Seeds4All visited the Bergerie de Villarceaux, a pioneering farm through the decades, in the hope of gleaning lessons from the past for the organic farmers of tomorrow. By Adèle Pautrat and Natasha Foote. […]

Let’s Liberate Diversity Forum 2025 – Registration Now Open!

April 4, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

From September 4th to 6th, the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity will host its 14th forum in Luxembourg. The Forum will focus on food sovereignty, seed autonomy, and agricultural resilience. Bringing together a dynamic network of farmers, seed savers, researchers, and activists, this international gathering will provide a platform for reflection on strategic opportunities and the exchange of ideas for collective action. […]

Portugal | Regenerative Heritage Grains – From Soil To Bread

April 2, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

Where to find heritage grains likely to thrive in a Portuguese climate and soil conditions? José da Camara Ruas tells us about his farming project in the Alentejo region in south Portugal, and his journey through diversification—from ancient grains and species mixtures to agroforestry and the introduction of animals. By Adèle Pautrat for the Seeds4All project. […]

A Leek for Change! The Belgian Trio on a Mission to Save Seeds

July 1, 2024 Adèle Pautrat

You’ve probably heard of people extending an olive branch – perhaps less common is offering up a leek. Seeds4All digs into why the leek symbolises the struggle for seed autonomy and why the cooperation project De Vroente, based in Sint-Lievens-Esse in the Flanders region, pours so much energy into this. Report by Adèle Pautrat. […]

Târ y donc a tori – Lessons on the Subversive Nature of Transmission, from a Stubborn Welshman

May 3, 2024 Adèle Pautrat

Saving seeds and preserving genetic resources goes hand in hand with the crucial question of legacy. In March, Seeds4All visited Welsh farmer, grain lover and peer educator Gerald Miles. Adèle Pautrat reports. […]

Feeding Ourselves 2024 – A Food Revolution Starts With Seed!

April 16, 2024 Adèle Pautrat

Our Seeds4All project was back in Ireland in March to be part of Feeding Ourselves 2024. We are inheritors of a genetic commons that we have to protect. While working on the ground we need to be vigilant about what is happening at legal level – and work together. In partnership with the Irish Seed Savers Association, Seeds4All brought a European perspective to Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary. Adèle Pautrat reports. […]

Old Varieties and Short Production Circuits to Rebuild “Rural Solidarities”

September 7, 2023 Adèle Pautrat

In June 2023, we took advantage of the first fine summer days to visit a project run by the Réseau Meuse-Rhin-Moselle (RMRM), one of our close partners. Comprising around ten member associations, the RMRM aims at supporting and connecting initiatives that promote the preservation of old varieties and peasant breeding practices, in an area bounded by the three rivers that give it its name. […]

The Balkan Seed Network Leading the Way to Agrobiodiversity

May 13, 2023 Adèle Pautrat

Inaugurating the 2023 programme of field visits, Adèle Pautrat, coordinator of the Seeds4all project, and Hannes Lorenzen, President of the ARC2020 association, travelled to Belgrade, Serbia, in February and met several members of the Balkan Seed Network: Gordana Djurić (Alica Foundation, Bosnia-Herzegovina), Kostas Koutis (Aegilops, Greece), Ivana Radović (Ecological movement Frame of Life, Serbia) and Lavdosh Ferruni (Organic Agriculture Association, Albania). […]