Numerous overlapping ecological, socio-political, and economic shocks and stresses acting across multiple scales have culminated in a polycrisis that threatens agriculture and food systems worldwide. As primary food producers, smallholder farming communities in the Global South are particularly vulnerable to adverse impacts – such as those caused by climate change, armed conflict, supply chain disruptions, or other disturbances. Mounting evidence from research and rural development programmes suggests that agroecological approaches and principles hold considerable potential in transforming smallholder-based agriculture and food systems into more equitable, just, and resilient ones.