Recent approaches, including food sovereignty and agroecology, are gaining prominence as strategies to address the negative impacts of global agri-food systems on ecosystem health, human well-being, and animal welfare. They are especially promising in montane rural areas, which often present extra challenges for sustaining families due to harsh weather, limited resources, and limited transport to towns and cities. Therefore, production of food for self-consumption and local commercialization become essential for the well-being of rural communities. Local Agroecological Food Systems (LAFS) offer thus a potential pathway toward more sustainable and equitable food networks in mountain regions. However, the conditions under which they can enhance food security, environmental sustainability, and equitable food distribution are little known, posing significant challenges to their implementation. We present here a recently-started project, which aims to evaluate the effectiveness of LAFS in small-scale farming, particularly focusing on strengthening food sovereignty in the Andean valleys of northwestern Argentina. By exploring how local food systems and agroecological practices empower marginalized mountain communities, the initiative seeks to inform agricultural policies that promote sustainable food systems. The project includes four objectives: (1) assessing the contribution of LAFS to healthy and culturally appropriate diets; (2) evaluating the ecological sustainability of LAFS; (3) examining social justice aspects, including gender equity; and (4) analyzing governance and policy frameworks relevant to LAFS. In this presentation, we will introduce the research questions and the transdisciplinary approach of the project. We will highlight the preliminary results based on surveys a transdisciplinary workshop conducted with local communities to further define the research objectives, hypotheses, and expected outputs (such as participatory mapping). This presentation will shed light on challenges faced by local actors in LAFS.