Today, peasants and farmers face threats to their food sovereignty and food security from laws privatising seeds, which are often designed to align with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) convention. This session introduces UPOV and explores the latest internationalnational mechanisms that intensify the challenges faced by farmers in protecting their seeds. We will present cases of community seed systems from Sri Lanka, highlighting local farmers’ struggles and actions to stop devastating national seed laws. We will also examine the role of the UK in pushing patent provisions in trade negotiations with countries in the global South, alongside actions supporting farmers’ groups and social enterprises to challenge trade injustices.