In line with Canada’s feminist foreign policy, a coalition of research, action and development partner in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya are implementing the Rural Women Cultivating Change (RWCC) project. The project is funded by Canadian government through Global Affairs Canada that invests $15 million over six years. Led by SeedChange, the project works to increase climate resilience, reduce violence against women, and support rural women’s leadership in sustainable food production. Drawing on the long-standing action research partnership between the Coady Institute and CIFOR-ICRAF’s ABCD team, ABCD team leader Lisa Fuchs was invited to speak about asset-based community-driven development (ABCD) and agroecology in view of food system transformation.