To feed the world and do it sustainably, radical transformation of our food systems is urgently needed. This transformation requires the strengthening of thinking conceptually around different policy areas which relate to food security and nutrition. Interconnecting seemingly disparate topics and increasing the coordination between traditionally independent, sectoral policies, make challenges and needs more visible, and can help find the most appropriate solutions toward sustainable food systems. In addition, this transformation requires “process thinking”: the construction of a clear, (chrono)logical pathway, where each step considers the potentially divergent ideas of actors, giving rise to sustainable solutions. The policy cycle model, applied in this learning framework, provides an excellent tool to support this innovative and integrated way of thinking. Public policies for family farming – when done appropriately – provide a perfect match between different policy areas related to productive, economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions of sustainable food systems. Family farmers – including peasants, Indigenous Peoples, traditional communities, pastoralists, fishers, mountain farmers and many other groups of food producers – play multiple roles in our food systems. They provide around 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms, they are caretakers of the environment and custodians of biodiversity; they prevent of soil depletion, water pollution and environmental degradation. Moreover, they develop resilient solutions that can withstand shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and other future challenges. They promote social inclusion and equity while combining traditional knowledge and culture with locally-appropriate and innovative practices. These unique characteristics, this multidimensional nature of family farming must be supported with political will and commitment. The Learning framework for inclusive, integrated and innovative public policy cycles for family farming is the first global product developed to support the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF) 2019–2028. By placing family farmers, as agents of change at the centre of action, the UNDFF calls on countries to develop public policies and investments to support family farming and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals – as requested by the United Nations General Assembly at its 72nd Session. To guarantee the success of this Decade, its Global Action Plan (GAP) outlines a set of indicative actions towards policies, programmes and regulation, which consider the needs of present and future generations while protecting and expanding the agency, inclusion and economic capacity and diversity of family farmers (see the Vision Statement of the UNDFF). With its Pillar 1, the GAP aims at accelerating actions toward the construction of an “enabling policy environment”, through the design and implementation of coherent, cross-sectoral policies which can concurrently address the environmental, economic and social dimensions of agricultural and rural development. This enabling policy environment to strengthen family farming underpins further actions delivered through other areas of the UNDFF (Pillars 2 to 7) and can accelerate positive changes through the global food system