South Africa’s food system is under pressure from a myriad of issues ranging from load shedding to water shortage. Load shedding, refers to the deliberate, scheduled cutting of electricity supply to different areas on a rotating basis. This happens because the power grid cannot generate enough electricity to meet demand, so the utility intentionally switches off power to certain areas for fixed periods — typically two to four hours at a time — to prevent the entire grid from collapsing. This disrupts cold chains, processing facilities, and irrigation systems.
On the other hand, water stress is intensifying across the country’s most productive agricultural regions. And climate change is making both worse with an increase in erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and unpredictable growing seasons which are squeezing farmers who were already operating on tight margins. The question of how to feed a growing population from an increasingly fragile agricultural base is not a future problem, but a present one.
Aquaponics as an alternative to bolstering resilience
Aquaponics offers a direct response to these pressures. Defined as a sustainable food production system that combines aquaculture — the farming of fish — with hydroponics, the cultivation of plants without soil, in a symbiotic closed loop, it is a system where fish waste provides nutrients for plants and plants filter and clean the water returned to the fish (Goddek et al., Aquaponics Food Production Systems, Springer, 2019)
Aquaponics sidesteps many of the vulnerabilities of traditional farming. It uses up to 90% less water than traditional agriculture, can be operated year-round in controlled environments, and produces both protein and fresh produce from a single system. (FAO, Small-scale aquaponic food production, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 589, 2014).
Our partner in South Africa, Aquaculture Solutions has spent three decades making this a reality designing and building fish farms from hobbyist setups to commercial operations producing over 120 tonnes of fish per month — systems matched to the realities of local climates, species, and markets. In a country where water scarcity and energy unreliability are structural realities, their expertise allows them to mainstream innovative solutions that build resilience and empower the actors along the value chain to succeed despite the odds.
Closing the loop with solar
Aquaponics addresses the land and water problem. But the question of energy and its supply remains a pain point. Circulation pumps — which keep oxygen flowing, move water between tanks and grow beds, and maintain the stable conditions fish and plants depend on — are typically powered by grid electricity or diesel. That reintroduces the exact vulnerabilities aquaponics was designed to escape i.e. fuel costs, grid dependence, and the ever-present risk of pump failure during load shedding.
Solar-powered pumps close that loop. Running entirely on solar energy, they keep water moving regardless of what the grid is doing — no fuel runs, no costly downtime, no emissions. For fish farmers, that means consistent water circulation, healthier stock, and a system that is designed to function off-grid.
What this means for fish farmers in South Africa
Aquaculture Solutions now stocks Futurepump solar pumps, available to purchase in South Africa. For farmers running aquaponics or aquaculture systems, the practical difference is significant. It means lower operating costs and freedom from load shedding that increase productivity, yield and ultimately improve livelihoods for farmers.
Food resilience, powered by the sun
Individual farms making the shift to solar-powered aquaponics are doing something larger than cutting their energy bill. Distributed, off-grid food production systems — resilient by design, low-emission by default — are exactly what climate-adaptive food infrastructure looks like. As South Africa reckons with the intersecting pressures of energy insecurity, water stress, and a changing climate, the farms being built today will determine how well communities eat in the decades ahead.
Futurepump solar pumps are available now through Aquaculture Solutions. Visit aquaculturesolutions.org or call +27 83 406 0208 to find the right pump for your system.