The Instituto de Investigaciones Fundamentales en Agricultura Tropical ‘Alejandro de Humboldt’ (INIFAT), together with other partners, received financial support from the Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty. One of the funded projects addressed the ‘Contribution of traditional methods for the in situ conservation and management of maize (Zea mays L.) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to the food security of peasant families executed in 2011 to 2012 provided an in-depth information of crops’ characterisics based on farmers’ perceptions. The project enabled to document corn and bean varieties and the traditional farming system in rural areas, while also providing training workshops, agrobiodiversity fairs and culinary festivals to promote awareness among communities regarding the importance of in situ conservation of crops. Through these activities, farmers were motivated to rescue the ‘lost’ cultivars; non-academic workshops were important tools for the dissemination of good practices of relevance for interested farmers. A second project commences in 2019, aims to strengthen community resilience and improve food security of farming communities in two Biosphere Reserves through in situ conservation and sustainable use of crop diversity. It will support farming community in crop improvement, strengthening community seed bank and networks, and organization of seed fairs and culinary festivals.