Aquaponics

Foundation Hubi & Vinciane (FHV) is a belgian NGO active in the Parakou region of Benin. Togetherwith the local people they set up projects around healthcare, education and agriculture. In one ofthese projects the foundation tries to introduce aquaponics in the region. Aquaponics is a hybridform of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic way:fish feces are used as nutrients for the plants, which thus filter the water and keep it clean for thefish. That way, both plants can be cultivated, fish can be farmed and water can be reused.

The long term goal of the project is to introduce small household scale aquaponic units to families,who can use it as a vegetable garden, thus providing an additional source of food/income.

In November 2019, five such systems were installed in the city of Parakou. They are used for testingand research. They were installed on three different locations: the centre of innovation of Hubi &Vinciane, the university of Parakou and  la Ferme de Sokounon. To guarantee good water flow, thesystems need a water pump and use some electricity. At the university this comes from the grid,which is unreliable. During this project, a PV installation will be built at the university to provide areliable energy source.

So far, the small aquaponic systems were imported from South-Africa, this makes them expensive. Ifsome time remains, we will look at options together with the foundation to implement this systemlocally: finding the right materials for the aquaponic systems on local markets so the smaller farmerscould benefit from the system as well. This would reduce the price of this system and make iteconomically viable.

At the university they are also building a larger aquaponic set up for research purposes on a largerscale. This set up uses multiple pumps and aeration pumps. To make sure there is a reliable energysource, a backup PV system will be designed for the university as well to complement the grid.

Currently the professor of the university who is in charge of this project, Dr Ibrahim Toko, is stilllooking for a way to provide sufficient funding for this project.