Agroecology has a long history and, as a result, various definitions and interpretations exist. In 2019, 197 countries endorsed the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) 10 elements of agroecology with the aim of harmonizing approaches and offering a common vision of agroecology. That same year, the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) released the 13 principles of agroecology, drawing on FAO’s 10 elements and other sources such as Nicholls et al. (2016), and CIDSE (2018), and Gliessman (2016). These principles are now widely used by civil society organizations, NGOs, and researchers worldwide. A key characteristic of these broadly formulated principles is that they can and should be adapted to local conditions, allowing for a variety of agroecological practices and measures based on the specific context. Furthermore, they can be applied at different levels of the food system: at the farm level, but also at the community level, for example by strengthening the links between producers and consumers, or at the societal level, by promoting responsible governance.

How to: Agroecology