Wastewater from fish farms could be turned into a valuable resource for vegetable production and help address Ghana’s food security challenges, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has said.
The technology, known as the Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture System (IAAS), uses nutrient-rich wastewater from fish production to grow crops, enabling farmers to produce fish and vegetables while reducing waste and environmental pollution.
The initiative was highlighted at the 2026 Mid-Year Review of the CSIR Water Research Institute (WRI) in Accra, held on the theme: ‘Water, Environment, Food, Health Nexus: Building Resilience for the Future.’
Speaking at the review, the Head of Aquaculture at the WRI on Wednesday, Dr Seth Agyakwah, noted that wastewater from fish ponds, concrete tanks, reservouirs and tarpaulin tanks was often discharged into the environment despite containing nutrients that could support crop production.
He said the IAAS provided an opportunity to convert the wastewater into a useful agricultural resource while promoting the efficient use of water.
“Don’t waste it. It is not waste because there are nutrients locked up in it, and that can be utilised for crop production,” he mentioned.
Dr Agyakwah said researchers first assessed the nutrient content of the wastewater and matched it with the requirements of specific crops before applying it to growing beds.
He said trials conducted by researchers had produced good yields, demonstrating the potential of the system to increase food production while reducing the environmental impact associated with the discharge of aquaculture wastewater.
According to him, the approach was based on the principles of a circular economy, in which waste generated from one production activity could become an input for another.
“This is about encouraging a bio-circular economy, where the wastewater from one resource can be used to produce useful inputs for another food production system,” he said.
Dr Agyakwah stated that the technology was particularly relevant as Ghana sought to strengthen food security amid increasing pressure on water and other natural resources.
He, however, expressed concern about the use of untreated wastewater for vegetable production, warning that some farmers cultivated vegetables with water from gutters and other potentially contaminated sources.
Such water, he emphasised, could contain heavy metals and other harmful substances that could be absorbed by crops and eventually enter the human food chain.
“People are producing vegetables using very bad water from the gutters,” he said, underscoring the need for safer approaches to water reuse in agriculture.
A Research Scientist at CSIR-WRI, Dr Sylvester Afram Boadi, who also presented a paper on “Water-Energy-Food-Environment Stakeholder-Led Assembly and Planning for Ghana,” emphasised the need for coordinated planning among government institutions, researchers, local authorities, communities and other stakeholders to address the interconnected challenges facing the country’s water, energy, food and environmental sectors.
He underscored the need for Ghana to adopt integrated approaches that would make better use of available resources, reduce waste and promote sustainable food production.
He also highlighted the importance of research and innovation in building resilience and ensuring that scarce natural resources, particularly water, were used efficiently to support Ghana’s development.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
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