Caterers in Ghana can source fresh vegetables and fish quickly and easily on an innovative, one-stop mobile app. The produce is grown by urban farmers using aquaponics and is loaded for sale to the Aquaponics Hub digital marketplace once harvested. The Aquaponics Hub app was developed in response to food security challenges aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two Ghanaian entrepreneurs developed the app as well as aquaponics kits which can be used by almost anyone in rural and urban areas in limited space. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production method that combines aspects of aquaculture or fish farming, with hydroponics – growing plants without soil in nutrient-rich water.

Engineer Daniel Taylor from Dent Agrisystems, and Lawrencia Kwansah, who studied aquaculture and water resource management, were spurred into action when they saw many individuals, farmers and businesses struggling to generate an income because of the pandemic.

“We wanted to create a market where individuals, who may have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, could start small aquaponics businesses and sell their produce to local catering businesses,” says Taylor, who was formerly shortlisted for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for the Hwesomame smart soil sensor.

Aquaponics is a closed system in which water is pumped from fish tanks to plants. The water is nutrient-rich from fish waste. The plants filter nutrients out of the water, simultaneously using them to grow and filter the water. Clean water is pumped back to the fish tanks. No soil is needed for the plants.

The Aquaponics Hub kit contains a smart sensor which monitors the water conditions and sends real-time alerts to the kit’s owner on the mobile app. The system is solar-powered, which means it is not affected by power outages and can be used in off-grid areas.

Because the fish and vegetables are grown in this controlled environment, they deliver top quality produce and high yields. Having urban aquaponics farmers improves access to produce and eliminates delays caused by unreliable transport from farms and food spoilage.

The app can be used be used in urban and rural areas by individuals, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, boarding schools, and farmers.
“The Aquaponics Hub app provides a great opportunity for local businesses to support each other,” says Kwansah. “This is especially important at the moment with the uncertainty and challenges faced by so many individuals and businesses.”

The team has received funding from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering to provide free training on the aquaponics system to 250 people during 2021. Training modules will be provided to municipal and district assemblies and NGOs to increase the number of people able to run an aquaponics system.

Daniel Taylor
+233 26 815 0004
Danieltaylor861@gmail.com