The Bellagio effect:
Global initiative for vegetable biodiversity takes root

– 19 March 2026 –

A year ago, a small but influential group of crop diversity experts gathered at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in northern Italy to discuss a shared concern: the loss of vegetable biodiversity – and how to stop it.

Hosted by WorldVeg, the get-together came amid growing concern that global food systems were failing both people and the planet, and that vegetables should play a much larger role in healthier, more sustainable diets. At the same time, vegetables – and the genetic diversity that underpins them – were underrepresented in research programmes, genebanks and development investments. Something needed to be done.

The Bellagio Center was a fitting venue for this meeting of minds. Convenings at the lakeside retreat have a track record of incubating major initiatives. It was instrumental in establishing the CGIAR global agricultural research network in 1971 and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) in 2000, which has helped to vaccinate over 1 billion children.

Present at the gathering in March 2025, titled Rescuing vegetable biodiversity for a more nutritious and resilient future, were international genebank managers, representatives of the FAO Plant Treaty, long-term funders of vegetable research and development and crop conservation, as well as representatives of universities, the private seed sector, farmers, and more.

These discussions set the course for a renewed effort to safeguard vegetable biodiversity, ushering in two key developments in the months that followed. First, the establishment of a new global initiative to safeguard and use vegetable biodiversity, and second, agreement on a way for funders around the world to support that work.

     

From idea to initiative

The most significant outcome of the 2025 Bellagio discussions was the conceptualization and launch of Vegetables4Life (V4L) in December that year at Global Crop Diversity Day in Lima, Peru. Led by WorldVeg and co-led by the Crop Trust, V4L is a ten-year initiative that aims to mobilize USD $300 million to collect, conserve and use vegetable biodiversity worldwide.

The aims of V4L are directly shaped by the concerns discussed at the Bellagio meeting, simultaneously addressing the issues of vegetable biodiversity loss and the need for improved and more sustainable diets. One of the goals is to improve the vegetable intake of one million children through the inclusion of vegetables in school meals.

Under the initiative, vegetable seeds in 20 biodiversity and malnutrition hotspots around the world will be collected and secured in national and international genebanks. Their traits will be studied and documented; breeders will be supported to use them to develop improved varieties; and farmers have access to the seeds that best suit their needs.

V4L builds on the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan, developed by WorldVeg and partners, and subsequently endorsed by the African Union. This served as a blueprint for a draft Global Vegetable Biodiversity Initiative presented at the Bellagio meeting, which in turn became the precursor to V4L. 

   

Maarten van Zonneveld (top), head of genetic resources at WorldVeg launches Vegetables4Life during Crop Diversity Day in Lima. The launch also featured a keynote address by Colin Khory (New York Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden, and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture) on the importance of vegetables for healthy and sustainable diets) and presentations on vegetable diversity hotspots featuring Sognigbe N’Danikou as one of the presenters). Photos: IISD/ENB Andrea Felipe Carvajal Gómez

The full V4L initiative proposal is currently being finalized. It envisages that by the time it concludes in 2036, it expects to have:

  • collected 65,000 local varieties and wild relatives of 128 priority vegetable species across 20 hotspots;
  • regenerated 130,000 local varieties, including the newly-collected varieties and those already conserved but with low seed viability;
  • characterized 100,000 varieties for traits of interest to breeders and farmers;   
  • genotyped 25,000 varieties for genomic-assisted characterization;
  • analyzed 25,000 varieties analyzed for nutrient content;
  • strengthened 20 national genebanks and integrated them into global systems;
  • enabled 100,000 farmers to access quality seed of ‘opportunity vegetables’;
  • enabled 2,000 schools across 20 hotspots to integrate vegetable species in school gardens, and fresh vegetables into weekly meals;
  • increased the fresh vegetable intake of 1 million children by 20% through the expansion of fresh vegetables in at least 20% of school meals.

A pathway for investment

One of the challenges for an initiative with such grand ambitions is to establish a trusted mechanism through which governments, philanthropic foundations and other funders can contribute. This was addressed through the second key development linked to the Bellagio discussions: an agreement between WorldVeg and the Crop Trust to channel V4L funding through the Crop Trust’s Power of Diversity Funding Facility, which was finalized in March 2026.

The Funding Facility provides a trusted and transparent funding gateway for donors to support the collection, conservation and use of opportunity crops – nutrient-dense, climate-resilient species that are often widely grown by smallholder farmers. These crops have great potential for supporting sustainable agriculture and healthy diets, but they remain underinvested in research and development. They include many V4L priority vegetables, such as amaranth, jute mallow, okra, eggplant, and bitter gourd.

Building momentum

Together, the launch of V4L and the creation of a dedicated funding pathway have laid the foundations for a coordinated global effort to safeguard vegetable biodiversity.

“The progress made over the past year shows the catalytic role of the Bellagio convening,” said Delphine Larrousse, Director of Global Engagement at WorldVeg, who participated in the meeting and led the facilitation of the discussions. “It brought together the perfect mix of expertise, leadership and urgency to transform a shared concern into the foundation of a concrete global initiative which is now quickly gaining traction.”

“That initiative – Vegetables4Life – links crop biodiversity with dietary quality and nutrition, addressing two global challenges at the same time, and it comes at a moment when the need for healthier diets and more resilient food systems has never been clearer.” 

Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust, said: “Vegetables are central to food security. They are a foundation to build more resilient food systems and balanced, healthy diets. Yet this crop diversity has long been overlooked. Opening our Power of Diversity Funding Facility to support Vegetables4Life creates a practical path for donors to support the collection, conservation and use of vegetable diversity worldwide.”

Stefan Schmitz (Crop Trust) outlines funding for the Vegetables4Life Initiative through the Crop Trust’s Power of Diversity Funding Facility at Crop Diversity Day 2025 at the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru on 21 November 2025. Photo: IISD/ENB Andrea Felipe Carvajal Gómez

The next steps include:

  • Publication of a seminal paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) highlighting the urgent need to safeguard vegetable diversity for healthier diets and climate-resilient food systems.
  • Publication of the full Vegetables4Life project proposal to support global fundraising efforts.
  • Finalization of V4L Roadmaps for the Americas and Asia, outlining priority crops, regions and partnerships.
  • Integration of V4L priorities into the Pacific Community’s Crop Diversity Roadmap 2030.

One year after the Bellagio convening, efforts to collect, conserve and use the world’s vegetable diversity are taking shape as a coordinated global initiative – demonstrating that the ‘Bellagio effect’ remains as powerful as ever.