Agroecology in the European Union

In 2020, the European Commission launched the European Green Deal amid rising concern over climate change and biodiversity loss.  Several policies and strategies stem from the Green Deal and directly address agricultural and food issues. The EU Pathway Towards Food Systems Transformation provides a comprehensive inventory of all cross‑cutting EU initiatives for food‑system change.

As part of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy promotes agroecological approaches to foster the transition towards sustainable agri-food systems both in Europe and globally. The strategy also identifies agroecology as a core element of the EU international cooperation action on food research and innovation.

Similarly, the Biodiversity Strategy promotes agroecology as a way to provide healthy food while maintaining productivity, increase soil fertility and biodiversity, and reduce the footprint of food production.

The adoption of agroecological farming practices by farmers in the EU is supported by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027, through eco-schemes and agri-environmental-climate measures. These reward farmers who voluntarily adopt sustainable practices that contribute to the environmental and climate objectives of the EU.

The Nature Restoration Regulation provides for Member States to bring back to good condition at least 30% of degraded habitats by 2030 and lists agroecology among the possible restoration measures for agricultural ecosystems.

The Vision for Agriculture and Food reiterates the potential of agroecological farming as a leverage for innovations that can deliver positive social, economic and environmental outcomes.

Agroecology in international partnerships

The New European Consensus on Development (2017) is the overarching policy guiding EU development cooperation is identifying sustainable food systems and environmentally sustainable agriculture as priorities. The Consensus commits the EU and its Member States to supporting agricultural approaches that enhance resilience, protect ecosystems and biodiversity, and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation,.

The Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument NDICI (2021) is the first binding EU legal instrument for external action that explicitly refers to agroecology, thereby giving it a legal basis within EU development cooperation states. It states that “The Union shall support actions that contribute to global development objectives and international commitments, including promoting environmentally sustainable agriculture practices, including agroecology and biodiversity as well as to enhance mitigation and adaptation to climate change”.

The agroecological transition will be supported through a number of geographic and thematic programmes for the period 2021-2027. In particular, agroecology falls under the NDICI thematic programme  “global challenges” with priorities on climate change, biodiversity, sustainable food systems and natural resource management.

The communication on Safeguarding Food Security and Reinforcing the Resilience of Food Systems of the European Commission (2022) confirms the dedicated support to countries in the transformation towards resilient and sustainable agricultural and aquatic food systems. This includes analytical and policy support, elaborated in the context of the follow-up to the 2021 Food Systems Summit and Nutrition for Growth Summit. “The EC will step up i.a. its international cooperation on food research and innovation […], applying approaches such as agroecology, landscape management and agroforestry, diversification of trade flows and production systems, and reduction of food loss and waste”.

The Global Gateway Strategy (2021)  is the European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Although the Global Gateway Strategy does not explicitly refer to agroecology, it frames EU external investment around sustainability, climate resilience and inclusive development.

The Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA) of the European Commission European Commission INTPA , has published in 2025 an Operational Guide on Agroecology to support the integration, implementation, and evaluation of agroecological transitions within development cooperation.

The role of agroecology to preserve biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, and improve livelihoods is also highlighted the Partnership Agreement between the EU and ACP, called Samoa Agreement (2023), as well as in the Africa and Pacific Regional Protocols.

African Union – European Union cooperation

The EU’s partnership with Africa is a key priority for the European Commission. The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) are committed to the sustainable development of Africa’s agriculture and rural areas. Through strategic cooperation, the AU–EU partnership on food and farming supports knowledge exchange, the sharing of good practices, and job creation to foster inclusive growth in rural economies. Ministerial-level political dialogue plays a key role in shaping the Africa-EU partnership on agriculture.

In the Joint Vision for 2030 (2022) the partner agreed on a strategic, long-term footing to develop a shared vision for EU-Africa relations in a globalised world. A key outcome of this process is the Global Gateway Africa – Europe Investment Package which aims to support Africa for a strong, inclusive, green and digital recovery and transformation. Within the field of green transition is also located the EU-Africa: Agro-Food Investment Package that supports the sustainable transformation of African food systems. This creates a concrete investment entry point for agroecological approaches within the EU–Africa partnership. For example, Global Gateway spearheaded investment in more resilient and sustainable agri-value chains, through private-sector engagement in Western Kenya targeting 40 000 small-scale farmers for improved production through sustainable agricultural practices, including agroecology.

The conclusions of the high level thematic session on “sustainable future for agri-food systems” at the 6 (2025) called for scaling up sustainable practices and approaches, including on agroecology, inter alia by mobilising indigenous and local knowledge

The Sub-Saharan Africa Multi-Annual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 contains the commitment to support agroecological transitions towards more  resilient and sustainable aquatic and agrifood systems, including for more affordable and healthier diets.

Research Programme on Agroecology

Significant resources have been made available under the European research programmes. Horizon Europe (2021‑2027) has already launched 55 calls for proposals on topics related to agroecology and organic farming, with a budget of 420 million EUR allocated for the 2021‑2024 period and approximately 250 million EUR for 2024- 2027. The Horizon Europe Agroecology Partnership is a joint initiative co‑developed by the European Commission, Member States and a wide range of partners for supporting agroecological living labs.