Partners donate aquaponics system to DAPP

Last week, the Hanns Seidel Foundation, in collaboration with the Finnish Embassy and the Namibian Brewery (NBL), officially handed over a state-of-the-art aquaponics system to the vocational school of the Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) near Outapi. The donation was made as part of the TH!NK NAMIBIA campaign by the foundation and its project on aquaponic systems for educational institutions to enhance food security.

The project aims to improve knowledge, training and capacities in climate-friendly agriculture to enhance food security while simultaneously reducing water consumption. Additionally, each 20 000-litre tank contains more than 250 tilapia fish, whose waste serves as a protein source that is used as fertiliser for hydroponic fruit and vegetable production. Within just a few weeks, the training centre was able to harvest fresh lettuce.

Plans are in place to establish fully functional aquaponics demonstration systems in three newly selected urban training centres in disadvantaged communities and to provide internal training for users. These centres include the Henties Bay Sam Nujoma Campus, the Arid Eden Project, and the Outapi DAPP vocational training centre. The DAPP vocational training school currently offers agricultural training up to NQA Level 3. However, with the curriculum and infrastructure updates –including the aquaponics system – it will be upgraded to NQA Level 5.