Despite Tanzania holding most arable land in the East African region and the agricultural sector employing over half of the population, it is still struggling with making the sector contribute fully to food security and the economy.
For a long time, Tanzania’s agricultural sector has been characterized by small farms, low yields and limited opportunities for innovation. This is the same in the Great Lakes region, and the Horn of Africa, food insecurity is growing due to climate change and related challenges, with food production gravely affected by changing rainfall patterns.
With over 239 million of its population classified as undernourished, more proactive and innovative measures are needed to boost agricultural production and increase food supply.
Industrial agriculture has the potential to drive economic development, contribute to food security and generate income for millions of rural farmers.
The hydropinics and aquaponics solution leading the path to economic growth and food security.
Recent years have seen a growth in digital innovations that can address the different challenges in the agricultural and food industry. Startups led by the private sector are tackling issues ranging from access to markets to provision of financial services. However, despite innovations and viable business models, challenges persist. This is due, in part, to constraints in sharing knowledge and lessons learned among countries and regions.
As a result, agricultural solutions have failed to achieve the wider impact that could modernize and transform the agricultural and food industry sectors of the continent. Two-thirds of Tanzania’s population is engaged in agriculture, though there are several attempts to transform the sector into a viable sector.
Aquaponics is a relatively new concept to modern food production methods and can provide answers to many of the above-mentioned problems.
Aquaponics is a highly efficient farming technique that uses less water and land than traditional farming methods. The water is constantly recycled through the system, and the plants absorb nutrients directly from the water, which eliminates the need for soil. This means that aquaponics can produce a greater yield per square foot of land than traditional farming methods.
If well scaled up, Aquaponics facilitate the cultivation of a diverse range of crops, including vegetables, herbs, and fruits. This means that farmers can produce a range of high-value, niche products that are in high demand in local markets.
The system can be used to produce crops year-round, regardless of the weather or climate. This means that farmers can generate income throughout the year, which reduces their dependence on seasonal crops. It is a sustainable and efficient farming technique that offers many benefits to farmers and consumers. As the demand for sustainable and locally produced food continues to grow, aquaponics is becoming an increasingly important part of the agricultural landscape.
Aquaponics farming can have a positive economic impact on Tanzania’s development as it uses up to 90-percent less water than conventional agriculture because the water is recycled in the cycle.
Aquaponics allows production and brings close to consumers, reducing transportation costs, carbon emissions and food waste. Consumers can also check the origin, quality and safety of their food, thereby strengthening trust in the food chain. Aquaponics can also create jobs and income for local populations, especially disadvantaged groups such as women, youth and people with disabilities.
It requires less land, fertilizer, pesticides and energy than traditional farming because the systems can be installed vertically, horizontally or on roofs.
Aquaponics can also reduce operational costs by reducing reliance on external sources of nutrients and reducing the risks of disease and pests. Increases value creation and revenue Aquaponics can increase value creation and revenue for producers by enabling higher productivity, better quality and higher profitability of products. Aquaponics can also improve market access opportunities and producers; competitiveness by enabling diversification, specialization and adaptation to consumer demand.
A local company Aatif Aquaponics Limited has set the ball rolling in Zanzibar, the company is turning and customizing the soil-less kind of farming into something big with the aid of technologies. Since beginning the business in 2017, the company has expanded fivefold in a relatively short period of time.
The company has managed to raise capital of over $250,000 to invest in the building of the probably largest hydroponics farm in Tanzania. “Our farm, which is located at Kijundu, Central Zanzibar, has a 1000m growing area consisting of over 6,000 fruit plants, including colored capsicum, cherry and plum tomato, okra and cocktail cucumbers,” he said in an interview.
Founder Rashid Rabia spoke of the advantages of aquaponics and how it can directly affect the local economy pointing out that her company has so far hired 16 people, 13 of them are below the age of 30, providing formal employment to youth is one of the best contributing factors to an economy. “Not just that though, in our company, we utilize coral lands that are not usually used for agriculture, and we convert them to produce 10 times more than normal open field farming,” he said.
He was optimistic that when scaled up, Aquaponics and hydroponics farming systems have an opportunity to relieve the hardship of farming, especially to women and youth of Zanzibar. “Women can use this technology to grow more products without always being physically exhausted, this benefit alone can ensure we have a healthier woman and will attract more youth in agriculture than ever before,” he pointed out.
As part of the company policies, the company is now training youths and women in different aspects of livelihood with over 120 youths and 200 women being trained so far. “We have also assisted some youth to open their own business, help some gain formal employment and even gave a few financial assistance to new startups,” he said.
Rashid said Tanzania has a chance of exporting different crops from adapting the smart farming systems including hydroponics and aquaponics. “If we set aside our time and resources including funding to do comprehensive research on this project, I believe it will most likely attract more investors in the agriculture sector to build more and bigger hydroponics and aquaponics farms,” advised Rashid.
