Aquaponics for food security in South Africa is transforming schools, farms, and townships by growing fish and vegetables with a fraction of the water traditional farming needs.
Aquaponics for food security in South Africa is growing steadily across schools, farms, and townships. INMED South Africa has reached more than 158,000 people through its adaptive agriculture and aquaponics work. The approach pairs fish farming with soil-free crop cultivation in a single, integrated system.
This farming method continuously recycles water between fish tanks and plant beds. These systems use up to 90% less water than conventional agriculture because the water is recirculated rather than wasted. That means families can keep growing food even during a drought.
Aquaculture means raising fish in tanks, while hydroponics means growing plants without soil. Aquaponics combines both into one connected loop. Fish waste breaks down into nutrients such as nitrates for the plants, which naturally filter and clean the water that returns to the fish.
The impact of this aquaponics model on food security in South Africa extends far beyond backyards and small farms. Ten schools and more than 7,300 learners have taken part in aquaponics lessons so far. Learners raise fish and grow vegetables as part of hands-on science classes.
South Africa’s food system leans heavily on large commercial farms, which leaves it exposed to climate shocks and market swings. Meanwhile, about 2.5 million smallholder and subsistence farmers grow food locally. Programs supporting aquaponics for food security in South Africa aim to strengthen this often overlooked part of the food system.
One striking example of aquaponics for food security comes from Pella, a small village in the Northern Cape. For eight years, women in the Pella Food Garden Cooperative struggled to farm land plagued by drought, low rainfall, and salty soil. Traditional crops simply would not grow there.
Before aquaponics arrived, cooperative members earned between 14 and 21 US dollars a month combined. That works out to less than a dollar a day, shared among an entire group of women. In 2017, they installed a commercial-sized aquaponics system with local support.
The change has been dramatic for many communities. Graduates of training hubs go on to start their own aquaponics enterprises, known as spokes. Some spokes eventually grow into new hubs themselves, spreading skills even further.
Young people are also getting involved, which matters for the country’s farming future. The average age of South African farmers is 62, raising real questions about where the next generation of growers will come from. Aquaponics, with its hands-on technology, has helped draw younger people back into agriculture.
Aquaponics for food security in South Africa is drawing younger generations back to farming at a critical moment, as the country’s average farmer age of 62 raises urgent questions about who will feed South Africa in the decades ahead. Photo courtesy of INMED South Africa.
Schools have become a natural starting point for building aquaponics systems to support food security in South Africa. A partnership with Pioneer Plastics helped design a compact, ready-to-use aquaponics system for classrooms. The setup includes a 2,000-liter fish tank, a sturdy submersible pump, and a growing area built on steel racks.
International funding has helped this work expand further. The United Nations Development Programme’s Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator backed the rollout of the school-based system. That support allowed plans for expansion into more provinces to move forward.
The approach also reaches people often left out of farming opportunities. Partnerships extend to women’s cooperatives and disabled people’s cooperatives in South Africa. This inclusive design gives more households a real path toward stable food supplies.
The wider social enterprise model tied to aquaponics for food security in South Africa has grown just as quickly. It has reached nearly 90,000 individuals across five South African provinces to date. Training includes business skills, links to buyers, and ongoing phone and web support.
A partnership with a major retailer extended this model into the Free State province, in the towns of Kroonstad and Bultfontein. Forty-three participants received training in aquaponics, seedling nursery management, crop production, and harvesting. Many also received starter kits with tools, seeds, and compost to begin growing at home.
Recognition for this work keeps growing, too. The program was shortlisted as a 2026 finalist for the Zayed Sustainability Prize and received a $100,000 award. That prize celebrates organizations solving real problems in food, water, and energy.
South Africa’s food system still leans heavily on large commercial farms, leaving many smallholders vulnerable to drought and rising costs. Aquaponics offers a different path, built on local materials, recycled water, and shared knowledge. For families in Pella, students in Kempton Park, and cooperatives across the country, building aquaponics for food security in South Africa has become a steady, practical route toward better nutrition. What could change if even more communities had the chance to try it?
