Aquaponic in Sierra Leone: Project progress and lessons learnt

The Salone Aquaponic project is now ongoing for over 3 years. We installed a first test system at the Salone Aquaponic office in Freetown. Expansion plans are made to further expand the system to a commercial viable operation. Several hotels, businesses and private customers have expressed their strong interest in pruchasing fresh and organically produced local vegetables and herbs. Here are some pictures from our current crops. The arabic mint is performing great with good taste!

The aquaponic system on our veranda at the Freetown office

Arabic mint is performing great in the aquaponic system. The mint leaves give a great tea and spice up your salads, like tabouleh and couscous salad.

Italian basil, a intensive flavour, great for pizza, pasta and salads.

Garden egg growing in the media beds

Garden egg flowering in the aquaponic system

Aquaponic farming: The sustainable way of fish and vegetable production

Aquaponic offer 2 benefits in one: It produces delicious fish, like Tilapia and also produces fresh vegetables by converting the fish poop to organic fertilizer. Especially in development countries, aquaponic can be a new way of farming, in areas of low soil fertility or in urban areas.

Mint and onions growing in the media beds.

Delicious fresh mint has a high market price in Sierra Leone. It can be used for fresh tea and for salads.

Parsley grow excessevly in the NFT system. It produces more than we can eat. Parsley can be fed to the Tilapia

Growing a papaya tree in aquaponics media bed

Good bearing tomato plant. In a few weeks we harvest another 10 - 15 tomatoes.

Spring onions growing in the NFT system

Also a carrot is growing in the NFT system.

Aquaponic Tilapia farming in West Africa

Parsley, onions, mint and tomatoe update on aquaponics

Here are some updates on the aquaponic system in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Parsley, onions, mint and tomatoes are growing well... Looking forward to sell the parsley from the NFT system to a nearby restaurant soon!

Aquaponic parsley growing in the NFT system

Tomato plant harvested, one tomatoe still left!!!

Real onions and mint growing in the media bed.

Tomatoes are a real opportunity due to their demand and high market price

Pepper plant having plenty of mealy bugs but still bearing fruit. The pepper was an imported hybrid variety. next time we go with the local seeds!

Harvesting tomatoes and corn from aquaponic

It is harvest time: After 2 months of growth we can harvest the first tomatoes and corn from the aquaponic system. With the aquaponic technology we are able to produce vegetables, like tomatoes and corn throughout the year without depending on the season. Stay tuned.

Fresh tomatoes harvested from the aquaponic system

A huge tomatoe plant growing and bearing many tomatoes

Tomatoes in the aquaponic system is a good source of income and own supply

Building a wooden rack where the tomatoe plants can grow on it

Fresh parsley in the NFT aquaponic system

Large corn (maize) performs well in the aquaponic system

Since we have the NFT system, we never bought parsley again on the market

Young hot pepper seedlings in the media beds.

Our aquaponic garden in Freetown

Aquaponic system update: Tubers and maize performing well

Our latest update on the growth of our plants in the aquaponic system: Tomatoes, maize, parsley and sweet potatoes showing strong growth. A suprise was the performance of the sweet potatoes, which are tubers with excess leave growth. Sweet potatoes are a staple diet for many Sierra Leoneans, better know locally as "petete lif". Aquaponic tuber production might be an option to counteract extreme high food prices of foods like potatoe leaves in Sierra Leone. 

Aquaponic tubers and maize showing fast growth

The media beds with various nutrituos plants: Tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, carrots and ginger.

Tomatoes starting to bulb fruits.

Second harverst for the parsley growing in the NFT system

Pruned moringa tree for strong leave production: Moringa as an excellent substitute for fish feed.

Inside Aquaponics in Africa

Aquaponics production methods is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponic plant production in a closed cycle. Aquaponics is considered to be a highly sustainable grow system that can grow a wide range of plants and rear nutritious fish at the same time. After 5 weeks from restarting our aquaponic system in Sierra Leone we can see both plants and fish growing fast. In order to feed the fish, we use a self made feed formulation consisting of dried fish, moringa leaves, rice bran and vegetable oil. The fodder makes both plants and fish grow well.

Aquaponic require no soil: Plants grow on granite gravel only

Tubers like sweet potato grow well in aquaponic media bed: Potato leaf in Sierra Leone is a main diet for people

The aquaponic system: Growing maize, ginger, salad, peas, tomatoes, onions, sweet potato and parsley

Parsley is highly expensive in local markets in Sierra Leone. Aquaponic is a great way of making profit in a short time.

Peas, ginger and carrots growing in a media bed on granite gravel stone.

rearing tomato seedlings in the aquaponic system

Young salad seedlings

Once the aquaponic system is cycled, enough nutrients are provided for optimal plant growth

Using an underwater camera to see the Tilapia growing

Indegenous Tilapia from Sierra Leone

The feed formulation is beneficial to the overall health of the fish

Salone Aquaponic system with new tilapia stock and new vegetables started

In order to have a high producing aquaponic system a constant power supply is needed.
The aquaponic system with a new stock of Tilapia (oreochromis niloticus) is beginnig to grow back with new vegetables. The aquaponic system is currently growing parsley, salad, tomatoes, onions, mint, peas, ginger, rice, pineapple, basil and carrots. After installing a solar panel and a battery back up, to sustain prolonged powercuts the system is able to revive productivity throughout the year. Aquaponic has great potential in Africa to produce high class vegetables regionally and cost efficient. Stay tuned for more aquaponic news soon.

Rice seedlings and a pineapple sucker growing in the aquaponic media grow bed

Peas and carrots growing

Young salad seedlings

Parsley is extremly valuable in Sierra Leone and has a high market price

Adding a 100 watts solar panel to power the 10 watts pump on cloudy skies during rainy season

A solar charger and back up battery to sustain power cuts in the aquaponic system

New stock of Tilapia for the aquaponic system

Aquaponic technology in Sierra Leone: Young fish, groundnuts and green pepper

Hi readers, it´s been a while since our last post. Many things happend at our aquaponic project site.
Although the electricity in Freetown is barely available more then 8 hours per day, we still managed to keep the system alive.
The fish even strated to breed and we had many young ones. Through an long lasting power cut of several days, we were forced to eat the big fishes in order to prevent them from dying because of lack of oxygen as the pump did not run. Currently we only have 4 fish left from the offspring. We managed to harvest a ripe chili although the nitrates are currently low. In a few weeks we will install a sustainable solar and wind power system to supply environmental friendly electricity.

Peppers, groundnuts and tomatoes

Although lack of nitrogen, due to very low fish density, the green pepper is growing and will soon end up in the stew

Ginger is growing

Green leaves showing signs of low nitrates. More fish need to be added in the system.

Hawa harvested the first aquaponic groundnuts from the system. Boiled in salt water they are an excellent and healthy snack.

Please also watch our youtube channel with more recent videos about our aquaponic system and the yount tilapia that hatched a few weeks ago.