Food systems need to meet food security, nutrition, and environmental goals, especially in a world with growing demand and a changing climate. There is now broad consensus on the need to transform current food systems towards more sustainable models.

Agroecology is increasingly seen as a framework to transform food systems. The key question is: how far can agroecology meet the needs for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the food system, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and at large scales? To address this question, this rapid evidence-based review was conducted to assess the quality and strength of evidence regarding (i) the impact of agroecological approaches on climate change mitigation and adaptation in LMICs, and (ii) the programming approaches and conditions supporting large-scale transitions to agroecology.

This Food Systems Summit Brief is prepared by Research partners of the Scientific Group for the Food System Summit and is based on the agroecology and climate change rapid evidence review.

• Substantial evidence exists for the impacts of agroecology in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) on climate change adaptation.
• Farm diversification had the strongest evidence for impacts on climate change adaptation.
• The evidence for agroecology’s impact on mitigation in LMICs is modest and emphasizes carbon sequestration in soil and biomass.
• Agroforestry had the strongest body of evidence for impacts on mitigation.
• Locally relevant solutions produced through participatory processes and co‐creation of knowledge with farmers improved climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Knowledge gaps were found for agricultural climate change mitigation, resilience to extreme weather, and agroecology approaches involving livestock, landscape redesign, and multi‐scalar analysis.