INMED broke ground on its latest adaptive agriculture project in South Africa. Located in the small village of Pella in the drought-ravaged Northern Cape province, the project involves the installation of an aquaponics system as well as a traditional vegetable farm, using nutrient-rich compost. The beneficiary of this Old Mutual-funded project is a small, all-female Pella Food Garden Cooperative. The group will receive training, assistance and resources to practice drought-resistant agriculture techniques and to increase their crop yields and quality.
As you can see from these photos, it will not be an easy task in this desert environment. The region only gets about 16 mm of rain annually in non-drought years. The soil is very salty, requiring significant compost to generate decent crop production. At a cost of 150 rand per load ($11 US), the use of compost has been prohibitive for this struggling little co-op. With the support of Old Mutual, INMED’s South Africa team recently applied 40 loads of compost to a new garden, along with the installation of a resource-efficient drip irrigation system.
“We are confident that with the inputs, drip irrigation and training the farmers will now be able to produce much more and far better quality veggies,” notes INMED South Africa Operations Manager Janet Ogilvie.
Learn more about INMED aquaponics at https://inmed.org/what-we-do/changeadaptive-agriculture-and-aquaponics/ #adaptiveagriculture #aquaponics #climatechange #farming
