Tropentag, September 16 - 18, 2026, Göttingen "Towards multi-functional agro-ecosystems promoting climate-resilient futures"

The Triple F agroecology model (TFAM): An integrated systems architecture for university-led agroecological innovation

¹Mountains of the Moon University, Fac. of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Uganda
²Triple F Agroecology Demonstration and Research Centre, Research, Trainings and Restoration Programs, Uganda
³Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Kenya
⁴University of Hohenheim, Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development, Germany

Abstract

Agricultural and food systems face interlinked challenges and pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, food insecurity, and constrained rural livelihood opportunities. Although agroecology, living laboratories, experiential learning, circular bioeconomy, and enterprise incubation each offer important pathways for sustainability, they are often implemented as distinct interventions, limiting their combined capacity to support systemic food-systems transformation. This paper introduces the Triple F Agroecology Model (TFAM), a systems architecture for operationalising the Food-Feed-Forest philosophy through integrated ecological production, learning, enterprise and community knowledge co-creation pathways. The Model was developed through an integrative conceptual synthesis encompassing agroecology, food-systems transformation, experiential learning, living laboratories, university co-creation, and circular bioeconomy scholarship. Its application is illustrated through the proposed Triple F Green Enterprise Incubation and Living Laboratory Programme in Uganda. The model comprises four interacting domains- Normative, Biophysical, Socio-economic, and Innovation and Learning - supported by system inputs and an enabling institutional context. Resource and information flows, feedback loops, and co-creation connect these components to ecological, socio-economic, educational, and institutional outcomes. TFAM therefore provides a coherent conceptual basis for designing university-led agroecological innovation ecosystems and a framework for future empirical evaluation across diverse socio-ecological contexts.

Keywords: Agroecological innovation, agroecology, circular bioeconomy, ecosystem restoration, experiential learning, green enterprise incubation, living laboratories, sustainable food systems, youth employment

Contact Address: Clovis Kabaseke, Mountains of the Moon University, Fac. of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, P.O.Box 837, Fort-Portal, Uganda, e-mail: cloviskabasekegmail.com