Aquaponics

MSc Internship report

Jiska van Vliet

Registration number: 900623621040 Plant Production Systems PPS-70424 Period: September-January 2014 Internship provider: TGS | Business and Development Initiatives Groenendaalseweg 35 6781 CN Renkum Supervisor TGS: Klaas Evers Supervisor WUR: Peter Leffelaar Examiner: Tom Schut

Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1

Activities ................................................................................................................................................ 3

Projects .............................................................................................................................................. 3

Driel ............................................................................................................................................... 3

Iraq................................................................................................................................................. 4

Indonesia ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Almelo............................................................................................................................................ 6

Other ............................................................................................................................................. 6

Miscellaneous .................................................................................................................................... 7

Screening of funding opportunities ............................................................................................... 7

Informative publications ............................................................................................................... 7

Networking .................................................................................................................................... 7

Meetings ........................................................................................................................................ 8

Answering various questions......................................................................................................... 8

Literature reviews ............................................................................................................................. 8

Reflection .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 11

Appendix I - Photo overview of the system in Driel..............................................................................13

Appendix II - Aquaponics - A literature review......................................................................................17

Appendix III - Feasibility of saline aquaponics - A literature review......................................................43

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Introduction

For my internship, I have worked at TGS | Business and Development Initiatives for four months. TGS is a small Dutch organisation which is involved in initiating and supporting various business activities worldwide. These businesses can facilitate positive economic and social change on a community level. TGS believes that entrepreneurship must be encouraged. TGS is involved in the businesses through project development, conducting feasibility studies and market research, giving advice on business administration and strategy development, connecting them to relevant partners and developing plans for social activities. Examples of business activities in which TGS is involved are a Cashew nut processing factory in Côte d’Ivoire and a chicken business in Central Asia. Currently, TGS is working with various aquaponics projects. Aquaponics is a highly efficient sustainable food production method, in which cultivation of fish and vegetables is integrated into one system (Figure 1, for more information, please refer to Appendix II – Aquaponics - A literature review). TGS believes that aquaponics can play a major role in improving

the access to sufficient healthy food especially for marginalised groups and can contribute to food security and development. TGS has already established such systems in both Egypt and The Netherlands. However, the knowledge base for aquaponics needs to be expanded in order to prevent future problems in new projects. In addition, the starting of new projects requires a high time investment, while the current employees of TGS were also involved in other time consuming projects. Hence, TGS was looking for someone who would be able to do more research regarding the biological functioning of the system, and also support the TGS staff in the initiation of new aquaponics projects. This vacancy was ideal for my internship placement. When I heard about aquaponics, it immediately sparked my interest and I was highly motivated to find out more about the functioning, the opportunities and threats of this system. With my

scientific background in Biology and Plant Science, I could contribute to the technical knowledge required for the development of aquaponics systems. As a WUR student, I could more easily access information both through the University library and through contacting experts. Moreover, in this working environment, I would gain more experience with all stages of project development and execution. Through my involvement I would gain many insights, skills and competencies which are required for working on a project basis, but also for working in an organisation in general. Moreover, the projects in which TGS is involved are largely aimed at development. As I am highly attracted to development work, this would be a very valuable working experience for me. I was not assigned to one clear, delineated task. Rather, just as my colleagues, I contributed to projects as part of the team. Responsibilities were shared between us; however, mutual feedback was always part of the process. Below, the activities in which I was involved during my internship are described. TGS works on a project basis and I have been involved in different phases of several projects. Activities directly related to a specific project, such as designing the project and applying for funds, have been described per project under ‘Projects’. Throughout the internship I have worked on many other tasks for TGS, which are described under ‘Miscellaneous’. As part of the internship, I also conducted literature research and wrote two reviews. This is described under ‘Literature reviews’, and the reviews can be found in the Appendices. The report ends with a final personal reflection on the internship and the acknowledgements.

Figure 1: Simple

representation of aquaponics

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Activities

Projects

Driel

One of the projects was to set up an aquaponics system at AquaVita in Driel. TGS had already established good contacts with AquaVita. AquaVita has been involved in the establishment of fish farms and the organising of training courses in fish management, and exploits a shop for fish farm supplies and a fishpond. AquaVita is owned by ir. Dicky van Zanten, who is a Wageningen Fisheries and Aquaculture graduate and is an expert in fish management. Mr. van Zanten was very interested in aquaponics, and had agreed to the building of a system in a greenhouse on his property in cooperation with TGS. The objectives of the system would be to gain more practical knowledge on aquaponics, be able to do some experimental research on the system, and use the system for demonstration purposes. Mr. van Zanten would be able to monitor the system closely, and his expertise on fish management was very welcome. Two funds were applied to for this project. Both funds were aimed at SME’s (Small and Medium sized Enterprises, or MKB in Dutch). So-called innovation vouchers could be obtained which allowed SME’s to hire knowledge partners to do research on an innovation which would stimulate the business opportunities of the enterprise. The first application I filed was for an MIT (MKB Innovatiestimulering Topsectoren) innovation voucher issued by AgentschapNL. This application consisted of filling in an application form. Most of the form consisted of formal questions regarding previous subsidies and details of the applicant in order to check eligibility. Only a small paragraph describing the project was required. Hence, this application was quite straight forward. After submitting the application I was called by someone from AgentschapNL. He informed me that the subsidy would be granted on the condition that we would find another knowledge partner because AquaVita did not meet the formal requirements of ‘knowledge institute’ set for the voucher. As we were already working together with AquaVita, we could not meet this condition, hence, the application was rejected. A similar innovation voucher was available for SME’s in Gelderland, issued by FoodValley. A colleague was working on this application and made an appointment with someone at FoodValley. This was a useful meeting, in which we explained the plans TGS had with aquaponics in general and the system in Driel specifically. FoodValley was very enthusiastic about the ideas, and we got some useful insights in the assessment criteria that were used by FoodValley. After this meeting, the application form was filled in by a colleague. This application form was a lot more elaborate than that of the MIT innovation voucher. The information we obtained during the meeting was quite useful and I helped with answering the questions in such a way that it met the assessment criteria as much as possible. Shortly after the application, the subsidy was granted. In the project design, I contributed by designing a research plan. This included, for instance, listing the variables which should be monitored and at what frequency, and listing the variables which could be manipulated. I also advised on cold-resistant plant species which could be used, and other mostly plant related technical aspects of the system. The specific design for the system was primarily made by a colleague in consultation with mr. Van Zanten, and little contribution from my part was necessary (Figure 2). My colleague, mr. Van Zanten, and I started building the system in November and after a short period of cycling the fish and pre-grown seedlings were introduced at the end of December/beginning of January (for an overview in pictures, see Appendix I – Photo overview of the system in Driel).

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Figure 2: Design of the Aquaponics center in Driel (by Rutger Toorman)

Iraq

Another project I was involved in was a project in Iraq. The starting point of this project was a local contact who was in the process of building an aquaponics system in Basra with help of the local University. He had contacted us to seek technical advice and suggested to work together to expand his project, and in September I was assigned as his primary contact. However, he did not have very specific ideas about what this expansion would imply and asked for our suggestions. Also, it was not known whether any funds would be available. Hence, there was little framework available for designing the project. However, we designed a very basic project in which an aquaponics training and distribution centre would be set up. This kind of centre would be very much in line with the objectives of TGS. This basic project design could be easily adapted in case the local partner in Iraq would be able to provide us with a better defined project context. However, it could also be adapted to other projects in other countries. I wrote a draft for a proposal for the designed project. The proposal included, amongst others, an explanation of the functioning and opportunities of food production using aquaponics, a description of TGS and their past experiences with aquaponics, the objectives of building an aquaponics centre, a description of some of the steps necessary for implementing the project (e.g. feasibility study), etc. Initially, this proposal was aimed at the Iraqi context. Hence, I did some literature research concerning this context (for instance regarding agro-ecological conditions, current agricultural production, food security and consumption, employment levels, business climate). One paragraph in the proposal was specifically about the Iraqi context, and how aquaponics systems would fit in here. In other paragraphs, references were made to the Iraqi context. I also was involved in searching for funding resources for this project. For this purpose, I contacted the Dutch Embassy in Iraq, but I was redirected to AgentschapNL. Currently, there were no funding opportunities available for such a project in Iraq. However, a new fund would open up for Iraq, and could be applied for in 2014. Other funding opportunities did not come to any results yet, either.

Indonesia

A specific fund which could be applicable for an aquaponics project was brought under our attention through the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia. Based on an initial screening of the call for proposals in which some of the requirements were identified, contacts were sought with existing partners in Indonesia. As these partners were enthusiastic, it was decided to aim at implementing a large aquaponics project there.

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The requirements for the specific call for proposals gave a framework for designing the project for instance in terms of some broad objectives and partnering requirements. In consultation with the local partners, the objectives of the project were established based on both the local context of constraints and resources and local demands and the objectives of TGS concerning entrepreneurship and social change. Information on the local context was partially received through the local partners, and partially obtained through literature review, largely using internet resources. I was involved in this project from the start. Based on the call for proposals, I made a summary of the requirements of the fund, which provided a clear overview to be used in designing the project. Also, I did a lot of background research which we used in the design phase. During the brainstorm sessions I made valuable contributions through bringing in own ideas and critically assessing others (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Result of one of the brainstorm sessions on the Indonesia project

The project would be a research project. Apart from TGS and the known local partners (who were involved in community development), the University of Palangka Raya would also be a partner in this project. In an experimental setup, aquaponics pilot systems varying in size, design, and level and type of input would be built in order to gain knowledge on aspects such as obtainable production levels, nutrient balances, required inputs such as fish feed, construction materials and technical equipment, and management strategies for different fish and vegetables in the different experimental systems. Through participatory focus group meetings with the identified target groups, the different systems would be demonstrated and evaluated, discussing the objectives, preferences and constraints of the target groups. Also, market research would be executed. Based on the research outputs, suitable aquaponics systems would be designed for the target groups. Consequently, an aquaponics centre would be established where systems will be demonstrated and produced. People would be able to buy all necessary inputs and receive training and advice for starting and maintaining an aquaponics system at the centre.

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I wrote a project proposal for this project design. The proposal was quite comprehensive. It was meant to use as a starting point for funding applications, but also for internal use in the consortium. The project had been designed in consultation with the different partners. However, this proposal was written entirely by TGS. It would be sent to all consortium members for feedback and approval, therefore, all plans were explained in as much detail as possible. For writing the proposal, background information was gained through consulting the consortium partners and literature research. As part of the project proposal, a budget was made by a colleague. The proposal was critically reviewed by colleagues of TGS at various stages. As mentioned, the proposal was quite elaborate. It was not written to meet the requirements of the proposal as stated in the call for proposals for the Applied Research Fund, issued by Wotro, on which the project was based. Although the proposal largely followed the required paragraphs, it had to be rewritten, especially to meet the criteria of word count limitations. To achieve this, it was important to determine which of the information Wotro would require in order to positively evaluate the project. Many details had to be removed, and what remained had to be drastically reformulated. This proved to be a notorious job, but with some input from colleagues, I managed to write the project description as required for the fund application. Other components of the application (a Consortium Agreement, the budget, and some other appendices such as CV’s of consortium members) were prepared by colleagues and/or provided by the consortium partners, after which I sent the full application to Indonesia for submission. Decisions regarding the approval of the grant will be made known in April. For the same project, a USAID grant ‘Securing Water For Food’ was found to be appropriate. Application for this grant occurs in several stages. In January, a concept note can be submitted. After evaluation of all submitted concept notes, USAID will make a selection of projects for submitting a full project proposal, which will again be evaluated, followed by a round of interviews, etc. Fortunately, the requirements for the concept note are not very complicated, and for a large part, the project proposal as used for the ARF can be used. This concept note will be submitted before the end of January.

Almelo

When I started at TGS, a promising project was a project in cooperation with a green college and the food bank in Almelo. A system would be set up at the school. Students and teachers would be involved from the start and the project would be integrated into the curriculum. Produce would partially be sold at certain occasions at the school, but most of the produce would go to the food bank. Volunteers of the food bank would also contribute to the management of the system (e.g. feeding the fish and harvesting of vegetables) during weekends and school holidays. A declaration of intention was signed by TGS, the school, and the food bank in October. Some questions were raised by the school during the meeting regarding the economic feasibility of the projects, and it was agreed that TGS would provide some more information for instance on the possibilities of marketing the fish. Also, the food bank had applied for a fund and was awaiting reply. Hence, the final decision regarding execution of the project was postponed. Unfortunately, the school apparently was not as interested in the project as suggested by the representative with whom the project plan had been initiated. Also, the fund was refused. Although the project has not officially been refused by the school, it does not seem that it will be executed.

Other

As described under ‘Iraq’, I wrote a project proposal for an aquaponics centre. I adapted this proposal for similar projects in other countries. For this purpose, I did research regarding the local context of the country or region in question and integrated the finding in the proposal.

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Through a contact of my supervisor, I got an email address from somebody working in the Middle East for Caritas. I contacted her, initially proposing the aquaponics centre project for Iraq. She was enthusiastic about the potential of aqauponics and we made a Skype appointment. During this conversation, she suggested that aquaponics might be very suitable for projects in cities in Gaza and the West Bank, where natural resources were scarce, import of food expensive, and people quite entrepreneurial and open to start new businesses. We sent her more documentation regarding aquaponics, for which we wrote a very to-the-point proposal with some of the possibilities of different projects with different systems. She would present the options on her visits to different local partners in December, and also applied for an internal fund of Caritas for innovative projects. The fund was assigned; however, it is not clear yet whether the local partners are interested.

Miscellaneous

Screening of funding opportunities

In order to be able to implement projects, TGS is largely dependent on external funding. Sometimes this funding can be found through partnering with other companies or institutions. In many cases, TGS applies for additional funding through various subsidies and grants. I did a screening of funding options. The screening was primarily based on internet research of companies who issue funds, agencies like AgentschapNL and Dienst Regelingen, and a broad range of development foundations. I also looked into the possibilities of acquiring funding through various crowd funding platforms. I made a list of all options with their key characteristics (eg eligible countries of implementation, maximum award, duration of the project, main themes for which the application could be filed, procedure), and a short document broadly describing how to find funds and a broad definition of options. The list should be kept up to date regularly.

Informative publications

I was involved in composing various publications such as flyers, brochures, internship vacancies, and website texts. Sometimes I was the person responsible for the publication, other times I fulfilled a revising task. The publications were written for various purposes and people, and the style of writing was adjusted accordingly.

Networking

Networking is of crucial importance for TGS. Through networking, contacts are made with experts, potential partners, potential funders, etc. I contacted existing contacts of TGS for various projects. This happened mainly through email, and sometimes resulted in Skype appointments (as many contacts are abroad). I also established new contacts. For the research I was doing regarding Saline Aquaponics, I contacted various experts from research institutes and companies that I came across during the research. Through these contacts, I gained some valuable information both through reports and through my conversations with them. Similarly, after reading an article by two WUR scientists involved in aquaponics related projects, I made an appointment with them in which we received some valuable input. Contacts like these will remain useful, as many of them are open to future questions and possibly even cooperation in research projects. I also contacted Wetlands International for possibilities of cooperation in the Indonesia project, and we have arranged a meeting at the end of January. I also approached other people for funding, both from governmental agencies and private companies. Often these contacts did not directly lead to funding opportunities, but they may prove to be valuable in the future.

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In November, I attended a day organised by Cordaid (the Dutch Caritas) for people aiming to start a Private Initiative. This was a very interesting day with workshops (for instance about fundraising in the Netherlands, or about starting a project in a particular country) and plenty of time for networking. Apart from the valuable input from the workshops, I also established some useful contacts on this day.

Meetings

During my time at TGS, I attended various meetings. During internal meetings the progress of various running projects was discussed, updates were given, future steps were identified and tasks were divided. External meetings included meetings with experts, a business breakfast in Rotterdam, the presentation of an aquaponics project in Alphen a/d Rijn, a meeting at FoodValley Wageningen, etc.

Answering various questions

Sometimes, questions arose for instance during meetings or project design. I have answered several research questions on different topics, some of which were not related to aquaponics. Topics included the possibilities of integrating sea cucumber into an aquaponics system, biological certification of aquaponically produced vegetables, marketing options of fish, certification requirements of fish production and processing, credibility of claims of a biological soil enhancer, levels of evaporation from aquaponics systems, etc. These questions were answered through literature and internet research, but also through talking to people at the local fish store, the open market, and a local biological supermarket.

Literature reviews

Although TGS had already established several aquaponics systems, there were still many questions regarding the biological functioning of the system. Most of the information that TGS used was obtained through forums on the internet, and a ‘How-to-guide’ for building home systems. Therefore, I conducted a literature study about the functioning and application of aquaponics. The resulting review can be found in Appendix II – Aquaponics – A literature review. Following some problems and suggestions we encountered during several projects, questions arose regarding the possibilities of establishing saline aquaponics systems. TGS did not know anything about this topic yet, and it was unknown what, if any, the possibilities would be. Therefore, the research was quite broad. Results can be found in the review about Saline aquaponics (Appendix III – Feasibility of saline aquaponics – A literature review).

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Reflection

During the first meeting that I had with my internship supervisor of TGS (Klaas Evers), he told me about the work of TGS and how this is mainly done on project base. This kind of project work includes many aspects such as fund raising, networking, and writing project proposals, with which I had little experience. My supervisor mentioned that I would probably get quite some responsibilities and would be expected to work quite independently on all aspects of a project. This both frightened and excited me, and it would definitely be challenging. Moreover, these were actual projects, where something real was at stake! I realised that, especially by crossing my own boundaries, I would be able to acquire and improve many skills and competencies during this internship which I had not drawn that much upon during my studies. During the first days and even weeks of my internship, I was not very confident and asked for quite some feedback and confirmation from my supervisor. I even had him read my emails before I actually sent them! Gradually, however, I noticed that I gained more confidence. I started working more independently and also dared to take more initiatives without consulting my supervisor first. Of course, this depended on the implications of the initiative. I found a balance between working independently, doing as I was told, and taking initiatives, in which I also asked for feedback when appropriate. I also gained confidence in the interaction with contacts such as experts, project partners, and potential funders. This interaction consisted of emailing, telephone and Skype conversations, and actual meetings. Especially at first, I preferred emailing people. That way, I had as much time as I needed to carefully weigh and reweigh my words, and could reread and if necessary rewrite my emails prior to sending them. Also, I would not have to be afraid to be confronted with an unexpected question to which I would not have an answer immediately. Slowly, I started to take less time for my emails, as I realised that my first version of an email was usually fine, and with that, most people could care less about the exact words I was using. I did not like telephone calls. I was always quite hesitant to call someone, and I would always take a deep breath first while feeling my heart thumping. This was especially the case because these telephone calls could be quite important, and I thought that they could mean the difference between getting funding or not, or being able to partner with someone or not. Fortunately, this improved drastically during the course of my internship. Partially, this was because I realised that these telephone calls were not as important as I had made myself believe. For a large part, it was simply because I learned that I was actually not that bad at talking to people, explaining them the objectives of TGS, explaining aquaponics, and explaining why I had called them. Also, I always prepared myself prior to making a call by identifying exactly what my purpose of contacting this person was and what objectives that person might have regarding that purpose, and I made some notes regarding the questions that I needed to ask and things that I needed to explain. Prior to an actual meeting, I made similar preparations. For one meeting, my supervisor had asked me the day before to lead that meeting. I was happy with getting this opportunity and learned a lot from it, especially after evaluating the meeting with my supervisor. During the meeting, I could have taken more initiative in leading the conversation. Although all the aspects which I had on my ‘agenda’ had been covered, this could have been done more efficiently if I had dared to interrupt the speakers to politely direct them to specific topics of concern. It wasn’t that what was being discussed was not useful or interesting, but it is good if somebody takes a leading role in such a meeting and in this case that someone should have been me. Although this partly is a matter of style and preferences, I should take a bit more initiative in such meetings. During my internship, the importance of ‘staying on top of things’ when it comes to contacts was confirmed. Very regularly, I needed to email and/or call people to confirm whether they had received

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my emails, to remind them to follow up, and just to keep in touch. Personal contacts may be tedious in this respect, however, they often offer more opportunities than, for instance, formal online registration forms. As I already knew, structure is quite important for me in several ways. Especially during the first weeks of my internship, I did not have a clear overview of what I should be working on within the projects to which I was assigned. This caused me to work relatively inefficiently. Later, I started dividing the work that needed to be done into more delineated tasks. I made weekly plannings in which I wrote what tasks I was planning to work on per half day, and set deadlines for myself. This way, I could also work towards tangible results, which fits to my working style. When writing a document, I also need to start with structuring. First, the objective(s) of the document need to be established. What message needs to be conveyed, and to whom? Then, a draft can be made of the structure of the document, for instance by indicating the paragraph titles, to establish a logical order in which all aspects that need to be covered can be presented. The actual writing is far easier once this structure is present. I used this method for writing documents such as project proposals, but also when writing the reviews it was very useful. This is especially clear when comparing my way of working between the two reviews. For the general Aquaponics review, I worked according to the method as described above. I formulated the research question that I would like to answer through the review, designed a structure for the review, and approached the review accordingly. For the review on Saline aquaponics, I worked less structured. This led to some extra work as, after writing several more or less separate paragraphs, it was not that straight forward to turn them into one logical story. It was very clear that I was the one responsible for the reviews. Although I could ask for feedback, involvement of others was nearly absent. For many other documents, however, we were involved in the writing as a team. I found that in this case it needs to be clear who is the main author and who gives feedback, and whether feedback implying making changes to the document is given as an advice or as a direct call for change. During this internship, I learned a lot about project based work and the world of networking and funding. One thing which struck me, for instance, was how one project design could be presented in very different way according to the public and their objectives and preferences. Emphasis of an aquaponics project could be on themes such as food security, water saving, or employment. A proposal could emphasise the research component of the project, the innovativeness of aquaponics, or the economic benefit that either the local community or the SME-sector of Gelderland could gain with the project. Especially for fund applications it was important to fit the presentation of the project into the application requirements, resulting in quite different proposals for the same project. Of course, I also learned a lot about aquaponics during my internship. I had never heard of it before. It was interesting to apply a lot of knowledge that I obtained during my studies in Biology (BSc) and Plant Sciences (MSc) to this new concept. Although I was often confronted with questions to which I had no answer, I understood the biological principles of the system. Therefore I could more easily understand information available on aquaponics and apply other information regarding the different components.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Hans Hamoen, Klaas Evers and Rutger Toorman of TGS for giving me the opportunity to work with them, giving me feedback, and sharing their stories, experiences and knowledge. I would also like to thank Peter Leffelaar for giving me his comments and feedback, often outside office hours. Furthermore, gratitude goes to the experts who were willing to share their knowledge, the people who I contacted for various projects, and others who have supported me during this internship in various ways.

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