Major changes are needed to develop sustainable agricultural and food systems in Vietnam, Philippines and Sri Lanka as large proportion of these countries agricultural growth has stemmed from expanded or more intensive use of land and other natural resources, and relatively heavy use of fertilizer and other agro-chemicals increasing the risk of residues in food. Agroecology could be an important approach to meet this general objective - sustainable agricultural and food systems, - as it designs, develops, and promotes the transition towards biodiversity and low external input-based, socially sound farming and food systems. Thus, the CDAE project will create a new MSc programme in a specialized academic area and key regulatory/policy issue, namely “Agroecology” that is as much absent from Partner HEI graduate and postgraduate programmes as it is needed, address this absence and the needs of the region and incorporate ecological principles and knowledge into the study of cropping and farming systems so that professionals are well prepared for the future design and management of a sustainable agriculture and organic farming techniques. In addition, the “Agroecology Labs” that will be established in the participating universities will promote sustainable agriculture and will act as foci of research innovation and cooperation in the area. Moreover, the Agroecology Knowledge Hubs will be a powerful tool for the initial and continued training of the students and academics and will be used in combination with the Labs to ensure continued research cooperation among European and Asian HEIs as well as updating the staff’s knowledge and skills.