Food security, fair returns, gender equity and reduced dependence on external inputs emerged as recurring priorities when farmers and other food system actors envisioned agroecological futures across six countries. Drawing on participatory Vision to Action (V2A) processes conducted under the CGIAR Agroecology Initiative in India, Kenya, Peru, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe, this research examines how questions of justice become visible when diverse stakeholders jointly define transition pathways. The authors apply a four-dimensional framework covering distributive, procedural, recognition and capabilities justice to processes carried out in 2022–2023.

The analysis shows that participation itself influences the priorities and pathways identified. Women-only sessions in India, for example, brought greater attention to women’s labour, household decision-making and education, while discussions in Peru revealed differences between farmers’ priorities for food security, diversification and fair prices and a cooperative’s emphasis on market competitiveness. Across the cases, government and private-sector actors were generally less represented than farmers, despite being assigned substantial responsibility for enabling transition actions.

Capabilities-related actions, including training, knowledge co-creation, access to technologies and stronger farmer organizations, were particularly prominent. The study also identifies tensions between aspirations for greater input autonomy and pathways based on substituting external inputs. It concludes that explicitly incorporating justice considerations from the outset, alongside careful participant selection and engagement with absent but influential actors, could strengthen future participatory planning for agroecological transitions.