 A growing consensus highlights that the global food system is not delivering as needed on a number of key sustainable development indicators. There is an urgent need for a global transition to agriculture and food systems that ensure food and nutrition security for all, while reversing environmental degradation and adapting to climate change. Sustainable agriculture and food systems simultaneously offer multiple benefits to society. Agriculture and food systems need to adapt to different contexts by transforming field practices and day-to-day farm management operations to enhance farm diversity and links to markets. Agriculture represents a shift from ready-to-use to custom-made production systems. To assist countries in fostering transformative change, FAO developed the 10 elements of Agriculture Framework. The 10 elements are interlinked and interdependent. They describe essential components, key interactions, emergent properties and desired enabling conditions in agricultural approaches. Ecological, social, economic and nutritional diversity are fundamental to agriculture. Agricultural systems that are biologically diverse can make greater contributions to the stability and variety of ecological functions that sustain food production and other ecosystem services like pollination, biological control of pests and diseases and soil health. Diversification of agricultural systems need to be guided by co-creation and sharing of knowledge and practices, science and innovation. Proven local practices combined with scientific knowledge provide the best guidance on what crops, livestock and trees to include on the farm, where to place them and how to manage them. Synergies occur when interaction between components in space and time generates multiple benefits to stakeholders across a range of products and services. Redesigning agriculture and food systems aiming at synergies while minimizing trade-offs inherently increases resource use efficiency. When using existing resources more efficiently by enhancing biological processes we can optimize the use of fertilizers and minimize the use of pesticides, reducing both the cost of production and the negative impacts on the environment. Recycling is central to efficiency in agriculture as it replaces the concept of waste and pollution with that of new biological resources for agricultural production. The return of organic residues to soil is a good example of recycling practices that enhance biological activity essential to soil health. Farm diversification including different crops, trees and animals increases resilience, which constitutes a type of natural insurance. When market prices are low or a bad season occurs due to drought, pests or diseases having diverse products and lower dependence on external inputs contributes to stabilizing producers' incomes. Having different crops and trees flowering at different times of the year enhances pollination and creates habitats for predators and natural enemies of common agricultural pests and diseases that can provide biological control services. Protecting and improving rural livelihoods, equity and social well-being is essential for sustainability. Agroecology places a strong emphasis on human and social values such as dignity, equity and inclusion, all contributing to the improved livelihoods dimension of the sustainable development goals. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems. Human and social values foster the building of social capital and collective action to make our way of life sustainable. Agriculture and food are core components of human heritage. Culture and food traditions developed as a result of long-term human-environment interaction and play a central role in society. By supporting diversified diets, agriculture contributes to food and nutrition security while maintaining the health of ecosystems. Agroecology plays an important role in the harmonious rebalancing of tradition and modern food habits, enabling healthy food production and consumption while supporting the right to adequate food. Agroecological transitions demand a development of effective and innovative policies, institutions and markets that enable and support transformative change. Responsible governance from communities to nations embodies transparent, accountable and inclusive mechanisms that support producers and consumers. Responsible governance also enhances social inclusion and fair practices. Circular and solidarity economy reconnects producers and consumers and provides innovative solutions for improving natural resource management while promoting the sustainable development goals. Agroecology is based on bottom-up and territorial processes, helping to deliver contextualized solutions to local problems. There is no single way to apply agroecological approaches. It depends on local contexts, constraints and opportunities. The 10 elements are a useful analytical tool to facilitate decision-making by practitioners and other stakeholders when planning, managing and evaluating agroecological transitions. To derive maximum benefit from these elements, we must continue to learn and innovate together, build and share knowledge based on scientific evidence and experience from the field and support policies, procedures and legislation that prioritize sustainability. Partnership and collaboration are central to co-creation in agroecology. Researchers and producers play a vital role as knowledge and innovation drivers for global transformative change. Agroecology means connecting efforts and scaling up sustainable practices to bring about a better world for everyone. If you want to know more about the benefits of agroecology and the 10 elements, please visit FAO's Agroecology Knowledge Hub.