Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems Climate change is expected to have severe, diverse, and location-specific impacts on agricultural production. The last IPCC report indicates that rising CO₂ and associated greenhouse gases could lead to a 1.4 to 5.8 °C increase in global surface temperatures, affecting precipitation frequency and amounts. Temperature and water availability are key factors in determining crop growth and productivity, with predicted changes in these factors leading to reduced crop yields. Climate-induced changes in insect pest, pathogen, and weed population dynamics could compound these effects. Climate and weather-induced instability will affect food supply levels and access, altering social and economic stability and regional competitiveness. Adaptation is a key factor in shaping the future severity of climate change impacts on food production. Changes that do not radically modify the monoculture nature of dominant agroecosystems may temporarily moderate negative impacts. The biggest and most durable benefits will likely result from more radical agroecological measures that strengthen the resilience of farmers and rural communities, such as diversification of agroecosystems in the form of polycultures, agroforestry systems, and crop-livestock mixed systems accompanied by organic soil management, water conservation and harvesting, and general enhancement of agrobiodiversity. Traditional farming systems are repositories of principles and measures that can help modern agricultural systems become more resilient to climatic extremes. Many of these agroecological strategies include crop diversification, maintaining local genetic diversity, animal integration, soil organic management, water conservation and harvesting, etc. Understanding the agroecological features that underlie the resilience of traditional agroecosystems is urgent, as they can serve as the foundation for the design of adapted agricultural systems. Observations of agricultural performance after extreme climatic events have revealed that resiliency to climate disasters is closely linked to farms with increased levels of biodiversity. Field surveys and results reported in the literature suggest that agroecosystems are more resilient when inserted in a complex landscape matrix, featuring adapted local germplasm deployed in diversified cropping systems managed with organic matter rich soils and water conservation-harvesting techniques. The identification of systems that have withstood climatic events recently or in the past and understanding the agroecological features of such systems that allowed them to resist and/or recover from extreme events is of increased urgency, as the derived resiliency principles and practices that underlie successful farms can be disseminated to thousands of farmers via Campesino a Campesino networks to scale up agroecological practices that enhance the resiliency of agroecosystems. The effective diffusion of agroecological technologies will largely determine how well and how fast farmers adapt to climate change.Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems Climate change is expected to have severe, diverse, and location-specific impacts on agricultural production. The last IPCC report indicates that rising CO₂ and associated greenhouse gases could lead to a 1.4 to 5.8 °C increase in global surface temperatures, affecting precipitation frequency and amounts. Temperature and water availability are key factors in determining crop growth and productivity, with predicted changes in these factors leading to reduced crop yields. Climate-induced changes in insect pest, pathogen, and weed population dynamics could compound these effects. Climate and weather-induced instability will affect food supply levels and access, altering social and economic stability and regional competitiveness. Adaptation is a key factor in shaping the future severity of climate change impacts on food production. Changes that do not radically modify the monoculture nature of dominant agroecosystems may temporarily moderate negative impacts. The biggest and most durable benefits will likely result from more radical agroecological measures that strengthen the resilience of farmers and rural communities, such as diversification of agroecosystems in the form of polycultures, agroforestry systems, and crop-livestock mixed systems accompanied by organic soil management, water conservation and harvesting, and general enhancement of agrobiodiversity. Traditional farming systems are repositories of principles and measures that can help modern agricultural systems become more resilient to climatic extremes. Many of these agroecological strategies include crop diversification, maintaining local genetic diversity, animal integration, soil organic management, water conservation and harvesting, etc. Understanding the agroecological features that underlie the resilience of traditional agroecosystems is urgent, as they can serve as the foundation for the design of adapted agricultural systems. Observations of agricultural performance after extreme climatic events have revealed that resiliency to climate disasters is closely linked to farms with increased levels of biodiversity. Field surveys and results reported in the literature suggest that agroecosystems are more resilient when inserted in a complex landscape matrix, featuring adapted local germplasm deployed in diversified cropping systems managed with organic matter rich soils and water conservation-harvesting techniques. The identification of systems that have withstood climatic events recently or in the past and understanding the agroecological features of such systems that allowed them to resist and/or recover from extreme events is of increased urgency, as the derived resiliency principles and practices that underlie successful farms can be disseminated to thousands of farmers via Campesino a Campesino networks to scale up agroecological practices that enhance the resiliency of agroecosystems. The effective diffusion of agroecological technologies will largely determine how well and how fast farmers adapt to climate change.