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The challenge of feeding the world’s growing population without further damaging the natural resource base is becoming increasingly urgent, and must be met in ways that also allow adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. Agriculture provides not only food, but also fuel, fibre and a wide range of ecosystem services. This paper discusses the principles and practices of agroecology, and how mainstreaming them can potentially meet the challenges facing agriculture and food production. The academic discipline of agroecology emerged over a century ago. Subsequently, in response to the social and environmental problems caused by the global industrial agricultural and food system, it has become the foundation of both a set of land management practices and a vibrant social movement. The science of agroecology is the study of living organisms and their inter-relationships in the context of agriculture and land use, and can be seen as the scientific basis of sustainable agriculture. Agroecology not only defines, classifies and studies agricultural systems from an ecological and corresponding socio-economic perspective, but also applies ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agro-ecosystems. This means that it is very useful as a theoretical and practical approach to increasing the sustainability of current agri-food systems. Agroecology has come to greater prominence since the publication of the 2009 International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) which advocated the use of agroecological approaches in sustainability initiatives. The …