South African President Cyril Ramafosa encourages schools to consider integrating aquaponics into their curricula to meet the growing demand for practical skills and food security. One school in Ecurhuleni has already introduced aquaponics into school everyday life.
At a special press event last Thursday at Laerskool Kempton Park, students and teachers demonstrated how they use their aquaponics system to not only supply fresh food and fish for school meals year round, but use it as an innovative teaching tool for basic subjects .
Teachers also noted that the aquaponics system was a particularly effective learning environment and behavioral therapy tool for their students with special needs who did not fit well with traditional classroom conditions.
The Kapton Park Aquaponics project was launched two years ago by INMED in South Africa with financial support from Air Products South Africa. This is the last of three school aquaponics projects with Air Products, and it is one of nearly two dozen INMED Aquaponics projects throughout South Africa.
Aquaponics is a combination of fish farming and hydroponics in a closed symbiotic system - an ancient technique used by the Aztecs. It produces crops and fish year-round with yields far exceeding traditional agriculture without chemicals and fertilizers, while significantly saving water, energy and land resources.
Worldwide, INMED has turned aquaponics into an innovative, affordable and simplified package for people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in regions heavily affected by climate change.
Aquaponics is used to strengthen food security, nutrition, and develop skills and opportunities for sustainable income.