The ‘International Symposium on Agroecology for Food and Nutrition Security’, hosted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on September 18 and 19, has opened this morning in Rome. Ahead of the forum, more than 70 scientists and scholars of sustainable agriculture and food systems signed an open letter praising and challenging the FAO on agroecology. In the face of the threats posed by climate change, continued food insecurity and rural poverty, the letter calls for a strong commitment to agroecology from the international community. According to the signatories, “agroecology, especially when paired with the developing principles of food sovereignty and food justice, offers opportunities to address all of these problems to an extent not matched by other approaches or proposals”. For this reason, agroecology has been adopted by the former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), La Via Campesina and most recently, by over 250 scientists and experts, among others. The letter states that agroecology as a set of practices can “provide multiple benefits to society and the environment, from reducing pollution from agriculture and supporting the conservation of the environment to boosting nutrition security and improving resilience in a changing climate.” The scientists point out that international institutions, for example the World Bank and the FAO, are currently using terms like “climate-smart” agriculture and “sustainable” intensification to address critical issues including climate change and food security. They criticize these terms for being vague and “subject to abuse through misleading or incomplete definitions” whereas agroecology is a “well-grounded science and a set of time-tested agronomic practices”. The scientists therefore call upon FAO member states and the international community to build upon the proceedings of the symposium in order to launch a U.N. system-wide initiative on agroecology as the central strategy for addressing climate change and building resilience in the face of water crises.