Aquaculture and vegetables Integration System: Integrated Aquaculture and Agriculture Systems

Aquaculture and Crops system for better yield

The "Integrated Aquaculture and Agriculture Systems" is like a teamwork between fish and plants. It puts fish tanks or ponds close to fields or greenhouses. This way, the water and nutrients from the fish can also be used to help the plants grow. The fish waste turns into food for the plants, and the plants help keep the water clean for the fish. It's like a natural cycle that saves money on food and helps both fish and crops grow better. It's a clever way to get more out of both fish farming and crop growing.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

9•9

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 9/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Under 18: No impact

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Much less carbon released

Environmental health: Does not improve environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Much less water used

Problem

Depleted soil: Over time, African agricultural lands have lost nutrients, leading to lower crop yields and reliance on costly external inputs.
Limited land: Many African countries have limited areas suitable for farming, making expansion difficult.
Water competition: Farmers and fishers can clash over shared resources like water.
Food insecurity: Limited access to affordable protein-rich food to meet needs for growing populations.
Feed cost: High costs associated with feeding fish in traditional farming methods.

Solution

Natural Fertilizer: Turns waste into wealth by using fish waste as natural fertilizer, reducing reliance on expensive external solutions.
Double Duty Land: Integrates fish and crop production, maximizing output on the same piece of land.
Water Reuse: Promotes water efficiency by using the same water for both fish and crops.
Protein on the Farm: Boosts protein access by incorporating fish farming, providing an affordable protein source.
Alternative Fish Feed: Reduces fish feed costs by utilizing byproducts from crop production as alternative fish food.

Key points to design your program

Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture Systems (IAAS) establish a circular production model that recycles nutrient-rich fish water to irrigate and fertilize high-value vegetable crops. The technology addresses inefficient use of water and nutrients while improving farm productivity, profitability, food security, and resource-use efficiency. Suitable for urban and peri-urban agriculture, climate resilience, integrated farming systems, and agribusiness development programmes, it contributes to SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 13 (Climate Action). The technology creates significant business opportunities for women and youth through fish production, vegetable cultivation, processing, marketing, and related service enterprises. To successfully integrate this technology, consider the following key actions :

Identify suitable production areas with reliable water resources, including humid and sub-humid zones near urban markets, dryland water-harvesting systems, floodplains, reservoirs, and gravity-fed production areas.
Establish partnerships with WorldFish, research institutions, extension services, hatcheries, irrigation specialists, farmer organizations, and private-sector service providers to support integrated production, water quality management, and nutrient recycling.
Support the development of integrated production infrastructure, including fish ponds, UV-resistant liners, pumping systems, irrigation networks, water storage facilities, and nutrient recycling systems adapted to local production conditions.
Facilitate access to integrated production packages by combining GIFT Tilapia or Hybrid African Catfish with high-value vegetables such as tomato, pepper, onion, and okra.
Train farmers, technicians, and extension agents on fish production, vegetable cultivation, water quality management, nutrient recycling, irrigation management, and integrated farm business planning through practical demonstrations and field learning activities.
Promote circular resource management by maximizing the productive use of nutrient-rich pond water, reducing fertilizer requirements, improving water-use efficiency, and strengthening integrated farming systems.
Promote the participation of women and youth through fish production, vegetable enterprises, processing, marketing, and technical service businesses.
Monitor programme performance through indicators such as fish and vegetable productivity, water-use efficiency, nutrient recycling performance, farm profitability, technology adoption, and the participation of women and youth.

50-100 USD

one square metter of hydroponic plastic beds

2,466 USD

average net income per acre

250,000 USD

for 0.5 ha of fully equipped aquaponic system

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 9 out of 9

Common use by intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Benin	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Botswana	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Burkina Faso	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Burundi	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Central African Republic	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Côte d’Ivoire	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Equatorial Guinea	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Liberia	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Madagascar	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Niger	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Senegal	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Sierra Leone	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
South Sudan	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Sudan	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Togo	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 11: sustainable cities and communities

Goal 13: climate action

Fish tanks or ponds are placed close to fields or greenhouses.
Water and nutrients from the fish tanks or ponds are used to help plants grow.
Fish waste acts as natural food for the plants, and the plants help keep the water clean for the fish.
This creates a cycle where both fish and crops benefit from each other.
The system saves money on expensive fish feed and maximizes the use of water and nutrients.
It's like a teamwork between fish and plants to make farming more efficient and productive.

Last updated on Jul 3, 2026