One of the paradigms of a just sustainable transition of food systems, is that respecting sustainability principles for food production reduces vulnerability to environmental and socio-economic stressors. This is particularly relevant for small producers, who are the back bone of local economies, but also the most fragile elements of the food system. Addressing environmental challenges requires not only the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices but also the awareness, motivation and competencies that enable food producers to contribute to the ecological transition. In this perspective, sustainability education can play a strategic role in strengthening farmers' capacity to understand, value and implement agroecological practices, generating benefits that extend beyond environmental protection to social and economic resilience.

This study explores whether sustainability-related coping capacities are associated with the adoption of agroecological practices and lower vulnerability among 124 small local food producers within the Rome Hub of the European Horizon SWITCH project. Sustainability awareness was assessed through a psychosocial construct reflecting producers' motivation, understanding and perceived ability to engage in sustainable production. Agroecological sustainability was assessed across six domains of the FAO agroecology framework, while vulnerability was analysed through three dimensions: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity.

Preliminary analyses indicated that producers with stronger sustainability-related coping capacities also exhibited higher agroecological sustainability (Pearson's r = 0.383, p < 0.001) and lower vulnerability (r = −0.264, p = 0.003). These findings support the idea that sustainability awareness may represent an important enabling factor for strengthening environmental sustainability and producers' resilience.

From an educational perspective, framing sustainable agricultural practices a win-win situation in which environmental protection, social well-being and local economic resilience reinforce one another, may mobilize and inspiring more producers to become more sustainable. The study contributes to sustainability education by showing how empowering producers can support the transition towards more resilient and sustainable food systems.