The importance of non-governmental organisations (NGO) in farming development has been assessed and discussed for a long time in developing countries. The on-going debate in Europe on urban food provision and urban food governance is currently reshaping farming policies, in a more global framework of smart cities, sustainable and inclusive growth. New actors emerge in this debate, like local public authorities and NGO. The participation of the latter has been red as a way towards a more participative democracy, an opening of the public realm to civil society, the introduction of new imaginations for the definition of public goods and for the formulation of local policies. Nevertheless, some authors advocate for a less mechanical view of the effects of NGO participation in public policies, by taking into account the relationships of these actors with the other actors of the local governance. Following this approach, we intended to understand and categorize civil society involvement in the local policies supporting urban and peri-urban farming in Toulouse urban area, the 4th French city. This urban area is one of the case study of the Era-Net Ruragri Taste project. First, an inventory of local actions to support farming was made, on the basis of previous knowledge and its actualization by press review, web browsing and interviews. Then, these actions were classified according to a smart growth grid elaborated in the WP3 of the Taste project. On a selection of these local actions, qualitative interviews were made to gain understanding in NGO participation, their own construction of the public goods they help shaping, and their relationships with public actors and public action. The results show an enhanced participation of NGO and, more largely, civil society representatives, in the local public realm, advocating for new ideas for the presence of farming in and around the city. It also demonstrates a variety of participation forms in public action, according to the economic dependency to public institutions and the technical profile and competency of the NGO. In conclusion, this communication presents a reflection on the local governance for farming maintenance in urban areas, introducing a complementary view to the more common focus on private-public partnerships.