Aquaponics: the future of food?

Photo by shawnanggg on Unsplash

We are Silver Roots, a South African family run aquaponics farm, fostering a future where healthy food is sustainably grown and supplied to all.

We grow delicious produce with zero chemicals and 97% less water than traditional in-ground agriculture. We deliver our vegetables, herbs and fruit on the same day they are harvested, meaning our food isn’t irradiated or subject to harsh preservatives.

We believe aquaponics systems are one important ingredient in creating a future where all people can access healthy food in a way that is positive for our planet, too. Why do we think that?

What is aquaponics?

First things first. Aquaponics combines raising fish with growing plants in water. Fish waste provides nutrients for the plants, and the plants help clean the water for the fish.

This setup uses way less water than traditional farming: vital in South Africa, where water is often in short supply. Since the fish waste provides nutrients for the plants, our farm doesn’t need commercial fertilisers (and thus no harmful chemicals.)

Mimicking natural systems, aquaponics-like approaches have been used in traditional food systems for centuries, though now we have sophisticated equipment for testing and circulating water, growing plants, and keeping fish.

Why are people interested in aquaponics?

Aquaponics could be play a role in creating a future where all people can access healthy food in a way that is positive for our planet, too.

In South Africa, aquaponics systems have the potential to:

• Save water: agriculture accounts for 60% of South Africa’s water use: imagine being able to use up to 97% less water in a country beset by drought?
• Save space: in aquaponics systems, leafy greens and herbs can yield up to 5–10 times more per hectare compared to traditional soil-based farming- meaning they can be grown in smaller areas closer to where people live, saving land for other uses.
• Save the soil: half South Africa’s total landmass is high risk of soil erosion (61 million hectares): letting our soil regenerate while we grow food in water will give future generations access to healthy land as well as healthy food.
• Improve food security: we grow many vegetables in half the time of in-ground farms, meaning more food is produced quicker, and closer to the communities it feeds. Inequalities mean that many South African homes are food insecure, even though production is good nationally.

For these reasons, and more, people are interested in aquaponics as a way of ameliorating current challenges of drought, soil erosion, and food insecurity.

What could the future bring, and how does aquaponics fit?

The challenges we see today may only get greater in future, and may take on different dimensions.

We may not have a crystal ball to tell the future with, but here are some some trends that we feel confident will come to pass:

• Many more people will be living in cities. Urban areas in Africa will attract an additional 1 billion residents by 2050. More people will live further away from in ground food production.
• There will be more droughts and excessive temperatures. The continent can expect a temperature increase that will occur 1.5 times faster than the global average increase. These changes will have wide ranging impacts, especially on agriculture and agricultural livelihoods and the wellbeing of workers.
• Africa’s population will be young. By 2050, the population of the continent, including sub-Saharan and North Africa, will double to reach 2.5 billion. With as much as 60% of Africa’s people under 25, many of whom will be increasingly digitally literate. These people will need access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. They will also form a major growth market for consumer goods.
• Small business will still reign supreme. Currently the majority of businesses in South Africa are small or micro enterprises, many in the unplanned/informal economy. We expect that entrepreneurship and the desire to build small businesses that serve local communities will continue.
• Vested interests will fight to keep the status quo. Despite some hopeful political trends, we anticipate that vested political and economic interests will attempt to disrupt progress towards a healthier and more climate-friendly food production system.

All of these trends signal to us that aquaponics could have an important place in the future climate-friendly food system of South Africa, if appropriate steps towards that future are taken now.

What are the early signals of a positive future?

We are not the only ones imagining a different future for the world’s food system. Who else is out there that believes in its potential?

There is a well supported global movement to accelerate and scale agroecology and regenerative approaches, like aquaponics.

Aquaponics directly supports several SDGs, including Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and Goal 15 (Life on Land).

The Global Alliance for the Future of Food (made up 26 of the world’s biggest philanthropic foundations, including IKEA Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation), released a report in 2023. It calls for massive increases in investment in alternative food systems, like aquaponics.

“Our current food systems are not working for people and the planet. We call on civil society, governments, investors, and other donors to work with us to unlock the innovative partnerships and investments that we urgently need to scale up agroecology and regenerative approaches” Per Heggenes, CEO, IKEA Foundation is quoted as saying.

The report says that the costs of climate and biodiversity crises, food insecurity, and inequality are already being paid for by governments, taxpayers, and the most vulnerable- and that we need to explore and scale approaches that result in stable yields, crop resilience, higher incomes for farmers, improved nutrition, food security, and enhanced biodiversity​.

Part of this movement seeks to allocate climate change finance more explicitly towards food systems sustainability, meaning more lines of investment may be opening up.

Large corporations are investing in alternative agriculture, in a bid to mitigate supply chain challenges in the face of climate change.

A friend working in sustainable supply chains once asked me who the most sustainable chocolate company in the world was. Tony’s Chocoloney? I posited hesitantly. No, he said: MARS.

His logic was their global influence on the chocolate supply chain is enormous. Although their sustainability efforts were nowhere near good enough, he felt they were likely making a bigger difference overall from minor adjustments than smaller chocolate companies.

The drive for sustainable supply chains is gaining momentum in the agricultural sector. For example, the 100+ Accelerator has worked with 148 companies in nearly 40 countries to develop critical sustainability solutions.

The 100+ Accelerator is co-sponsored by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, and Unilever- five of the largest consumer goods companies in the world. The companies want to test and validate solutions that can reduce the impacts of climate change on their supply chains, and reduce the climate footprint of their core businesses, too.

Aquaponics is already being explored in other countries as a route to sustainable hop production, for example. As the world’s largest companies shift expectations from their suppliers, the farming community needs to be able to adopt novel approaches, like aquaponics, at scale.

National policy shifts will change the market for exported produce.

We foresee that national policies in major South African export markets like the EU and UK will increasingly favour produce that is grown organically and sustainably.

For example, the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy emphasise the transition to sustainable food systems, and encourage the import of sustainably produced food, including organic and aquaponically grown produce.

While we aren’t in the export market (yet), these are still positive signals for a business involved in sustainable farming.

What is our vision for aquaponics in South Africa?

We are searching for the most effective, low cost, ways to make aquaponics viable both in large scale commercial settings, and in local communities for subsistence.

We have dreams of a future where:

• Leading grocery chains integrate aquaponics systems into their stores and supply chain, ensuring the freshest produce and fish are available, and that the climate impact of healthy diets is reduced.
• Large commercial agriculture uses less water, chemicals and land. For example, we’d like the beer we drink to use up to 90% less water, 95% fewer chemicals, and 75% less land.
• Villages and townships have a small community run system capable of supplementing diets with fresh vegetables and vital fish protein, improving nutrition for the nation.
• Every major city in South Africa hosts urban food hubs equipped with large-scale aquaponics systems, providing fresh, locally-grown produce to residents and businesses daily.
• Everyone feels connected with their food and the way it is produced. With education and engagement programmes bringing people of all ages to learn about where their food comes from, and people aspire to become aquaponics farmers.

We want to do our part, alongside other farmers, educators and investors, to make a dream like this come true, fostering a sustainable future for food in South Africa.

If you’re interest in talking with us, do reach out! https://www.linkedin.com/company/silver-roots-aquaponically-grown-produce/

Stay tuned also for a future post on: Why not aquaponics? Challenges in scaling and commercial viability.