While agroecology becomes a concrete reality for an increasing number of producers and communities across the world, it also sparks meaningful discussions around the urgent need for sustainable transformation of food systems in international debates. The origins of agroecology can vary in terms of its different dimensions, as a science, a social movement and a practice. However, over the past years, these three dimensions have been consistently gaining prominence reaching a pinnacle moment in 2021.

Exactly seven years after FAO organized the First international symposium on agroecology, - opening a neutral space to discuss agroecology’s potential to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Food Systems Summit held in September 2021, highlighted agroecology as an important way forward to boost nature-based solutions for sustainable agriculture and food production.  

Collective pledges made it possible to place agroecology high in the formal discussions and decisions taken by the Summit. It all began when the Summit opened a call for stakeholders to submit what would be called “game-changing solutions” for food system transformations. Between December 2020 and May 2021, a number of public fora, online consultations and calls for submissions were organised by the five UN Food Systems Summit Action Tracks, which resulted in more than 2,200 ideas and submissions. Of those, more than 80 submissions referred to agroecology and regenerative agriculture as a promising solution. These ideas were assessed and consolidated into a smaller number of solution clusters.

This process resulted in the creation of the solution cluster “Transformation Through Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture” co-led by Emile Frison (IPES-Food), Esther Penunia (Asian Farmer Association for Sustainable Rural Development) and Fergus Sinclair (CIFOR-ICRAF and Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology). The cluster proposed agroecology and regenerative agriculture as the most appropriate pathway to achieve an ambitious food systems transformation, through wide inclusion and collaboration of different stakeholders. Moving from ideas to action, the cluster launched a pledge to create a coalition of the willing for the Transformation of Food Systems Through Agroecology (the Coalition). In parallel, over 1200 signatories (including countries, organizations, NGOs, farming groups and experts) pledged to put forward a unifying framework for food systems transformation based on the 13 principles of agroecology set out in the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) 2019 report, which embrace the 10 Elements of Agroecology adopted by FAO.

The emerging Coalition contributed to setting the tone of the discussions leading to the Summit. In fact, the Pre-Summit held in Rome in July 2021 highlighted the Coalition on Agroecology among the outstanding seven Coalitions that would play a prominent role in the Summit discussions and decisions. Leading to the Summit, the leaders of the Coalition participated in a number of discussions, events and multi-stakeholder dialogues where different actors from across the world expressed support, interest and commitment towards the scope of the Coalition and its important role in implementing the much-needed food system transformation.

On Thursday 23 September 2021, civil society, farmers, youth, Indigenous Peoples, FAO Members States and countless actors joined the Summit. Over 51,000 people tuned in from 193 countries, all ready to tackle global hunger, climate change, and biodiversity loss for true food systems transformation. The Agroecology Coalition was highlighted by the Summit as an important approach to implement Action Area Two “Boost Nature-Based Solutions of Production” to make food systems more sustainable and simultaneously benefit people, the planet and our shared prosperity.

The Coalition aims at catalyzing collaborative action around important existing frameworks and instruments to scale up agroecology on the ground. In terms of policies, the implementation of the recently approved CFS Policy Recommendations on Agroecological and Other Innovative Approaches for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems that Enhance Food Security and Nutrition is one of the prioritized actions, along with ensuring policy coherency and consistency across different sectors. Another prioritized area that reflects one of the distinctive elements of agroecology relates to the co-creation of knowledge and participatory research. This entails “promoting local innovation, through a transdisciplinary and participatory approach between scientists, farmers, indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders of the food systems”. In this regard, 2021 has also seen the wide implementation of the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) and the creation of the Transformative Partnership Platform on agroecology which aims to address key knowledge and implementation gaps to support agroecological transitions widely.

At the moment, twenty-six Countries have officially joined the Coalition (eleven from Africa, six from Europe, four from Asia, three from Latin America and the Caribbean and two from Near East) along with the African Union and thirty-five organizations - including FAO, IFAD, WFP, UNEP, UNDP as well as farmers’, civil society, philanthropic, research and indigenous peoples’ organizations, expressing a high level of commitment and interest in strengthening collaborative action to accelerate food system transformations through agroecology.

The Coalition for the Transformation of Food Systems Through Agroecology is in the process of defining its modus operandi and will operate in connection with the Committee for World Food Security (CFS) and its High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE).

Looking forward, important synergies can be created among the Agroecology Coalition and the Scaling up Agroecology Initiative, bringing together a growing community of partners and stakeholders that have critical roles to play to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and build sustainable food systems for all.