Description
René Segbenou spent over thirty years fighting on fronts few dared to occupy: peasant seeds, GMOs, biosecurity, UPOV and the patenting of life, land grabbing, and the fight against Bt cotton in Burkina Faso. A former Director of INADES, he was one of the first Beninese intellectuals to clearly state that the agriculture of tomorrow could not be built without local knowledge and the rights of rural communities. From this conviction emerged two organizations that are now prominent in the West African civil society landscape: COPAGEN, a pan-African network for monitoring and advocating against GMOs and for seed sovereignty, and JINUKUN, a Beninese platform for the conservation and enhancement of local agricultural biodiversity. He also fought, with remarkable consistency, to ensure that Francophone voices were heard in regional and international forums where major decisions on seeds and food are made. René Segbenou passed away on April 11, 2021. Six years later, the issues he championed remain as relevant as ever, even more pressing: pressure on farmers' seeds, restrictive laws, and climate change. Organizing this conference within the framework of the 2026 World Social Forum affirms that his memory is not a matter of nostalgia. It is a compass for action. General Objective
To pay solemn tribute to the memory of René Segbenou, while mobilizing civil society actors, his comrades in the struggle, and the younger generation around a renewed vision for seed sovereignty and agroecology in Francophone Africa.