The sustainability of agricultural production systems is of growing concern. Agro-ecology has received considerable interest as an alternative to conventional farming. Clarity of both concepts is a precondition for any assessments. Large-scale adoption of agro-ecology could yield profound changes in rural Africa and on economic development of African countries due to the interlinkages between agriculture and the other sectors of an economy. Therefore, its promotion should be cautiously investigated and guided not only by its environmental effects but also by its ability to contribute to food systems sustainability, the development of rural economies, and economies as a whole. Consequently, the analysis of agro-ecology should be connected to the objectives of agricultural transformation as part of a process of structural transformation. Based on a meta-narrative review approach using multiple references from selected online reference databases, the concepts of agricultural transformation and agro-ecology are assessed, and a conceptual framework to guide future empirical analyzes of the role of agro-ecology on agricultural transformation as part of a process of structural transformation is proposed.