FINLAND, GERMANY AND BREWERIES BOOST VOCATIONAL TRAINING WITH AQUAPONICS SYSTEM

Aquaponics Vocational Training | Michel Haoses |

IMAGE: From left to right): Honourable Immanuel Shikongo, Councillor of Outapi; Honourable Hans Haikali, Councillor of Etayi; Frankin Angermund, NBL Sustainability and Public Affairs Manager; Patrick Hilger, HSF Aquaponics Project Coordinator and Frank Fléchard, NBL Head of Corporate Affairs

The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), in collaboration with the Embassy of Finland and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), officially handed over the state-of-the-art Aquaponics System to the Vocational Training School at Development Aid from People for People (DAPP) near Outapi on 18 March.

The donation was done as part of the Hanns Seidel Foundation’s TH!NK NAMIBIA Campaign and its project Aquaponics-Systems for Educational Institutions to Improve Food Security.

According to a statement, the project implemented by the HSF and its partners is designed to contribute to knowledge improvement, skills training, and capacity building about climate-smart agricultural practices to strengthen food security and improve livelihoods in selected rural and urban communities in Namibia.

Furthermore, it also plans to set up three new systems in three newly selected urban localities or training centres in disadvantaged communities with a resilient, fully-fledged Aquaponics demo system and do in-house training of the users.

The Embassy of Finland’s Funds for Local Cooperation (FLC) Programme enabled the HSF to build on a previous project pilot phase, revisit the demo versions, and revive the Aquaponics training material on the lessons learned.

Registered with the Namibian Training Authority and accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA), the DAPP Vocational Training School offers training in the field of agriculture up to NQA level 3, but with introduced changes to curriculum and infrastructure, including the Aquaponics-System, it will be upgraded to NQA level 5.

The NBL, pleased and excited about the benefit of Aquaponics Systems to further advance local communities, extended their support for another three years.

NBL’s Sustainability and Public Affairs Manager, Franklin Angermund, commended the project and the new system at DAPP. “We remain steadfast in caring for our people and planet. Our Brew a Better World sustainably initiatives focus on making a positive social impact by empowering the community with practical Aquaponics systems and updated training material to ensure the students and staff can independently manage and sustain these systems.”

Moreover, each 20,000-litre tank contains more than 250 Tilapia fish, providing a source of protein to the students and staff and fertilizer for hydroponic production of fruit and vegetables. In only a few weeks, the training centre was able to harvest fresh lettuce.

Original Article: https://economist.com.na/96256/agriculture/finland-germany-and-breweries-boost-vocational-training-with-aquaponics-system/

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