Aquaponics Ethiopia Internship report

20 Augustus 2015 - 8 January 2016

Bouke Kappers 891001422090

MSc International Land & Water Management

TGS business and development initiatives

Wageningen University and Research

Klaas Evers Rutger Toorman

Maja Slingerland Harm Boesveld

In cooperation with:

Great

Commission

Ministries

Ethiopia

Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3

1.2 The Project partners ......................................................................................................... 3

1.3 The Aquaponics Project ................................................................................................... 4

2 Activities ................................................................................................................................. 5

2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Marketing research ........................................................................................................... 6

2.3 Baseline study .................................................................................................................. 6

2.3.1 Baseline design ......................................................................................................... 7

2.3.2 Conducting the baseline ............................................................................................ 8

2.4 Designing the Aquaponics systems .................................................................................. 8

2.4.1 Design adjustments concerning power cuts. ........................................................... 13

2.5 Training the beneficiaries ............................................................................................... 14

2.6 Building the Aquaponics systems .................................................................................. 14

2.7 Maintaining the GCME system and experimenting with new crops ............................. 15

2.8 Writing a Grow guide ..................................................................................................... 18

2.9 Networking and dissemination activities ....................................................................... 18

3 Reflective Engineering.......................................................................................................... 19

3.1 A positive critical Understanding Aquaponics............................................................... 19

3.2 Communication skills in a cross-cultural setting ........................................................... 20

3.3 Identifying key factors for success of a project.............................................................. 22

3.4 Integration of business and development ....................................................................... 25

4 References ............................................................................................................................. 25

5 Annexes................................................................................................................................. 26

Annex A: Internship Programme .............................................................................................. 26

Annex B Learning Agreement .................................................................................................. 27

Annex C Dissemination Activities............................................................................................ 29

Annex D Baseline notes ............................................................................................................ 30

5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 30

5.2 Previous work ................................................................................................................. 30

5.3 Notes on conducting the baseline ................................................................................... 30

5.4 Notes on data processing (filling in the Excel file) ........................................................ 31

1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction I’ve performed an internship at TGS Business and Development Initiatives from August till January 2015. Although some preparatory work was done in Wageningen, most of the activities took place in Awassa, Ethiopia. This report will give an overview of the internship activities including a reflection on the personal learning goals. Most activities of this internship were very practical and aimed to benefit the project directly. A critical reader might comment that the academic arguments and literature references are few in number. This is partly due to all the practical and bureaucratic problems that needed to be solved throughout the internship. I’ve chosen to take a practical approach because (in my opinion) that was what the project really needed at this time. Although this internship had a practical focus, a lot of academic articles have been collected that can benefit the project, this database has been shared with the project leaders. Only during the last stage of the internship permission was granted to start building an Aquaponics system. Therefore I’ve chosen to extend my internship with three weeks in order to finalize everything. Apart from this it didn’t feel right to leave right before we could actually start building the Aquaponics systems, one of the main reasons of my coming.

This Internship report should be read in combination with some other reports that are all part of the outcomes of this internship:

1. Marketing Report 2. Aquaponics Growth Guide

3. PowerPoints slides of the training 4. Baseline Questionnaire

1.2 The Project partners The project is run by a partnership of TGS | Business and Development Initiatives, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Addis Abeba University (AAU) and Great Commission Ministries Ethiopia (GCME). During the internship I’ve been involved with all partners, although the main lines of communication where with TGS (Klaas Evers and Rutger Toorman) and GCME Awassa (Desta Arnula Ersado) with bi-weekly reports to the WUR supervisors (Maja Slingerland and Harm Boesveld) and if needed discussions with Abebe Tasesse and Lemma Nigussie from AAU. TGS is a Dutch company that is involved with and supporting various projects all over the world that encourage entrepreneurship. They believe that stimulating entrepreneurship will have an effect on the wider community as well because it stimulates economic growth. One of the main activities of TGS is the development of Aquaponics systems worldwide. WUR and AAU have joined hands in this project to not only establish small Aquaponics enterprises, but to also monitor and evaluate them. Both hope to publish the findings of this project to benefit the scientific debate that surrounds Aquaponics development. And of course the findings can indicate how Aquaponics should be managed in the future.

GCME is the local project partner that has connections in the communities of Awassa. Their main interest is in helping the selected individuals in gaining some extra income using their small backyards for crop production. Next to this they are providing an Aquaponics junior that is able to keep track of the systems, to monitor and to help the beneficiaries with all kinds of problems that might occur. GCME has been hosting me at their office during the time of internship.

1.3 The Aquaponics Project This Aquaponics project is receiving a WOTRO (Netherlands organization for scientific research) subsidy and is integrating scientific research with the development of small Aquaponics enterprises. The idea is to build around forty Aquaponics systems in three different regions of Ethiopia. My involvement will be mainly in Awassa were the goal is to set up eight Aquaponics systems in the backyards of the beneficiaries. Aquaponics integrates sustainable fish and vegetable production at a high water and nutrient use efficiency. In Aquaponics systems, nutrient rich water is recirculated constantly, to minimize losses. I will shortly explain the particular setup of our Aquaponics system to explain the working of Aquaponics Water flows from the fish ponds loaded with nutrients from the fish effluent. From here the water passes a solids sedimentation filter and flows into grow beds filled with media (in this case Red Ash). These grow beds serve as a biological filter: Plants absorb the nutrient rich water, the gravel acts as a second solids filter and microorganisms and bacteria in the grow bed help to dissolve the nutrients to make them available for the plants, mainly through the process of nitrification. These grow beds are constantly filling up with water and as soon as the water enters the top layer, all the water is drained out by an auto siphon. There is thus a constant ebb-and-flow system that allows for aeration, which benefits the plant roots. From these grow beds the water flows into a pipe system using Nutrient Film Technology (NFT). These NFT pipes have holes in the top in which planting cups are placed. Through these pipes is a continuous flow of water in which part of the plant roots are submerged. After the water passes through these pipes it is pumped back to the fish ponds and the circle is completed. So on a regular basis both fish and vegetables can be harvested. See figure 1 for a schematic overview.

Figure 1 The biological components in the Aquaponics process: fish, plants and bacteria (FAO, 2014)

2 Activities

2.1 Introduction This chapter will give a brief overview of all the activities that were conducted during the internship. The marketing research and the baseline study were given as main assignment, although much more time was spend on the other aspect as described in this chapter. Many issues arose during the internship which resulted in new activities that were not planned but much needed to make the project succeed. A typical internship day is given in table 1, although every day is completely different it gives an indication of the performed activities. Table 2 gives an overview of all performed activities.

Table 1: A typical internship day

Time Activity

8:30-9:00 Feeding the fish, checking the system (make sure the siphons work etc..)

9:00-10:00 Work on system design and internship report

10:00-11:30 Transplanting 100 seedlings to the floating Raft system (+ washing 100 seedling cups)

11:30-12:15 Work out baseline/marketing data from interviews of yesterday

12:15-13:15 Lunchtime

13:15-15:15 To town to check prices of building materials

15:15-16:45 Continue office work (checking and processing building budgets in excel)

16:45-17:00 Feeding the fish and checking if everything is going well

Table 2: Global overview of activities

Start End Activity

21-08-15 Arriving at Addis Abeba

21-08-15 Meetings at Addis Abeba University (Abebe Tadesse, Abebe Getahun)

24-08-15 28-08-15 Visit project sites in Debre Birham and Showa Robit

31-08-15 15-10-15 Preparing Baseline and marketing research Work in the greenhouse

Arranging paperwork (Government permissions etc..) Adjusting the design

16-10-15 11-11-15 Baseline research (Although some interviews were performed later on) Work in the greenhouse

12-11-15 16-11-15 Cleaning the GCME Aquaponics system and harvesting fish

17-11-15 06-12-15 Office work Arranging Paperwork (Government permissions etc..)

07-12-15 12-12-15 Preparing and conducting training

13-12-15 14-12-15 Meetings with Klaas Evers (TGS) and involved GCME staff

15-12-15 24-12-15 Marketing Research with Lemma

26-12-15 01-01-16 Building the first Aquaponics system

02-01-16 04-01-16 Visit Jan van de Haar (Debre Zeit) for possible connection with the project in the future and cooperation with TGS on starting Aquaponics businesses in Debre Zeit.

05-01-16 07-01-16 Fine tuning the first Aquaponics system and handing over performed tasks to local GCME Staff. Saying goodbye at the office

08-01-16 13-01-16 Finalizing the database and the internship and marketing reports

2.2 Marketing research I won’t go in details here since there is a separate document on the outcomes of the marketing research. Many interviews with wholesalers, shops, restaurants and hotels were conducted to get a basic idea of the output market. Next to this lists and prices of the bought building materials were kept and translated. And shops/salesman were sought that could provide the inputs that are needed throughout the year (fingerlings, seeds, fish feed,).

2.3 Baseline study The baseline study has been processed to gain a basic understanding of the beneficiaries’ characteristics, although the main reason of the baseline remains the project evaluation after 2 years. Finance The beneficiaries in the Awassa project spend on average 2500birr (+/-110€) per month and own a private compound. Therefore the beneficiaries seem to be on the edge between low and middle class income groups. When asked if their income is sufficient to meet their needs, all stated that they experienced shortages, some (3 out of the 9 beneficiaries) even mentioned a lack of food. Only two are involved in some sort of entrepreneurship to gain additional income Nutrition All beneficiaries have a somewhat similar diet in which Enjera (sort of pancake made out of teff) plays the central role. Maize bread is produced as a substitute for Enjera during some meals. Enjera is always eaten in combination with a sauce. In most cases Shiro, a sauce that consists of Tomato, Union, Garlic and peas or lentils. Other popular vegetables are Cabbage, Potato and carrots. Only during peak season (when the market prices are low) other vegetables are bought. Animal products are hardly consumed due to their high price. Milk is sometimes bought in families with small children to aid there development. Meat and eggs are only served on special occasions like birthdays and fests. Fish is never consumed.

Three beneficiaries are engaged in some sort of farming activity, but most of their produce is sold and doesn’t contribute the household nutrition. Therefore it is fair to say that in general all beneficiaries are entirely dependent on the market for vegetables. Fasting is not common among the beneficiaries in Awassa due to the fact that Awassa is mainly Protestant. When talking about fasting they indicated that fasting to them is a certain period (12hours of 24hours) in which only water is consumed. This is different form Ethiopian orthodox people that can fast for weeks at a time in which only animal products are avoided. Therefore the questions about fasting didn’t apply on the beneficiaries in Awassa. Electricity/water supply Another crucial point is that electrical outages occur 2/3 times a week and when the power is out it often for about 5/6hours. Once in a while (on a yearly basis) the power can be out for several days at a time even. Water supply is quite constant and most beneficiaries are able to save some water to overcome shortages or they take water from a communal well. Gender Only one of the beneficiaries is female, but this doesn’t mean that only the men are involved in the project. When asked who would be the main person to perform the work on the Aquaponics farm, men almost always mention that it are their wives that would perform most work during the week, while they can contribute during the weekends.

2.3.1 Baseline design To evaluate the success or failure of a project it is important to map the current situation as accurately as possible. Before leaving to Ethiopia I’ve therefore developed a baseline study together with Maja Slingerland in order to get an understanding of the current situation. Since the project is aiming to improve nutrition as well as stimulating entrepreneurship, these aspect were given main attention. On the entrepreneurial side all information about current (micro) enterprises, livestock and farming were collected. In this all members of the household were included since these will all influence the beneficiary. On nutrition we’ve tried to make a difference on food consumption during fasting/non-fasting (although this is mainly relevant for orthodox beneficiaries) and consumption related to harvest times and the different seasons. The latter proved difficult since all the beneficiaries in Awassa were not involved with farming and are buying their food from the market. Therefore market prices/availability were a better indicator and thus only indirectly the seasons. Apart from this basic characteristics of the beneficiary and his household were collected. Next to these some basic information on energy, water sources and the location/characteristics of the household were collected in order to see how suitable the household is for aquaponics. Finally some questions were added at the last moment on the motivation and expectations of the beneficiary. What is he/she expecting to do with the produce, the system, the profit and the main reasons for the beneficiary to join in the project were asked. After including all these factors, the baseline totals about eighteen pages, the final questionnaire has been fixed. Lemma Ngussie has been trained to conduct the baseline in Metahara.

2.3.2 Conducting the baseline Soon after arriving in Ethiopia I’ve met with Tristin Bouwman, a fellow student who has conducted the baseline in Showa Robit. He did encounter quite some problems and managed to fix them. I’ve had several discussions with him and we tried to have the same understanding on how to go about it. It turned out that especially the nutritional questions were hard since people do not seem to have the overview over food availability throughout the year. Therefore we’ve decided to repeat the questions at section F several times (asking the precise same question as a way of probing) and if still no indication was given about the differences we would note down the composition of normal meals that they would provide us with. Apart from these major difficulties, Tristin has adapted the units and details of some questions to make them clearer in the Ethiopian setting. Before conducting the baseline I’ve spend some time on the marketing study to get an idea of what is sold on the market, since this should overlap with the answers to the nutritional questions and I’ve visited some of the beneficiaries to get acquainted before doing the baseline, since I will be involved not only in the baseline but also in construction and some follow up over the first months. I think getting acquainted before conducting the baseline also helped to avoid that they feel plumped upon by a sudden stranger with all these (personal) questions. The baseline proved to be lengthy and in many cases I’ve conducted it in two parts. The nutritional part proved most difficult since people had little understanding about their change in diets over time, although linking it to the seasons did help. Notes on how to conduct the baseline have been written, see Annex D.

2.4 Designing the Aquaponics systems Although I had no idea that I would be involved with this, redesigning the systems turned out to be an insightful enterprise. First of all Abebe Tadesse (from AAU) had made a beautiful design for the Aquaponics system that served as a starting point. Abebe Tadesse has designed his own round fish basin that would be beneficiary if it wouldn’t have been so expensive. Therefore we’ve decided to change the design with two 1000liter basins for three 800liter basins, which gives us slightly more content for less than half the price. Apart from this adaptation, some minor differences in the position of the pump were needed in order to allow to system to run on a single pump only.

Figure 2 Concept design A Figure 3 Concept design B

Figure 4 Concept design C

Concept design A (figure 2) was based almost entirely on the sketches provided by Abebe Tadesse. But after doing the math it turned out that two square meter of grow bed should be sufficient to act as a biological filter, therefore it was chosen to reduce in to two square meters. Next to this the flow from the media beds would flow almost straight into the NFT meaning that there is not a constant flow through the NFT pipes, there would only be flow just during some seconds after the media beds had drained. To solve this I’ve placed the pump after the media beds (concept design B, figure 3) to pump at a constant rate into the NFT. However there is one major complication, the outflow of the NFT should be higher than the top of the fish tanks in order to allow for gravity flow back into the fish tanks. This mean that the NFT pipes have to be built at 1,30m height, or the fish tanks need to be dug in which would require a lot of extra labor in the rocky soils of Awassa. Another option would be using an extra pump at high cost of both electricity and investment. Another missing detail in concept designs A and B is a filter between the media beds and the fish tanks. After taking all these complications in consideration we ended up with concept design C (figure 4). Water flows from three fish tanks, via a sedimentation filter, into 2m2 of media bed. From here it arrives in the sump tank in which a pump is submerged. This pump now pumps the water into two directions (see blue piping): Half the flow continues to the NFT system and the other half flows back into the fish tank. The return flow from the NFT also flows back into the same sump tank which is the hard of the system. Thus we’re working with two flow circulations, one through the fish tanks and the media beds and one through the NFT system. In the sump tank these two flows mix and therefore the same nutrient load is maintained al throughout the system. We now got a perfect design that fits in an area of 7.00 x 7.00 meter. However after visiting the first beneficiaries it turns out that only few of the beneficiaries have an area like this available. We tried to make an indication if the system would fit even if we move the components to fit the specific shape of

the compound, but still no success. After several discussions it was decided to visit more compounds to get an idea of the ideal size of an aquaponics systems that would be suitable for the ‘average’ Awassa backyard. It turned out that working with an area of 3.00 x 6.00 meter would be most suitable for the selected beneficiaries as well as for a possible future expansion of the project. One garden was selected as a tryout, see figure 5 for a sketch.

Figure 5 Typical backyard area

Most gardens in Awassa are partly surrounded by a wall, in this case just one but often the whole garden is surrounded by walls. This is something to take advantage of and therefore I came up with the following three concept designs (figure 6).

Figure 6 Concept designs for 3.00m x 6.00m

Concept design D

Concept design E

Concept design F

Concept design D is allowing most plants per square meter, but the area to maneuver is very limited and the plants are almost on top of each other which limits the penetration of sunlight. In concept design E the same situation is used but the A-frames have wider base, giving more space to plants, people and sunlight. The only drawback is that there is only place for 1,5 growing racks instead of 2,5 although the growing racks are slightly bigger. Concept design F is a propagation of E with the only difference that one fish tank is removed in order to add 48 growing stations. Designs E and F have significantly less growing area although they should be much easier to operate. The original design (see figure 4) had 600 growing stations. All throughout this design process I’ve consulted with Rutger Toorman (TGS) and he has given me feedback for improving the designs as presented in this section and we came up with a design to put 450 planting stations on an area of just 6 by 3 meters. We have made a larger version of this design for those that do have the space, for research purposes we made sure that both designs have the same size (figure 7 and 8). In the design process I’ve also made use of the Backyardaquaponics.com forum, some experienced Aquaponics farmers have assisted me with their feedback

Figure 7 Concept design G: 450 planting stations

Figure 8 Concept Design H: 450 planting stations

2.4.1 Design adjustments concerning power cuts. In the above text I’ve explained how we came to the design of the physical structures. Another problem that became evident during the baseline are the daily power cuts. Most power cuts last for only 4 hours and are of no thread to fish and plants. But sometimes the power is out for longer than which might cause the fish to die due to a lack of oxygen that is normally provided through the water pump and an (electric) aerator. For the plants we’ve solved this problem by putting a narrow pipe at the end of the NFT pipes to ensure that there is always standing water even if there is no power (can be seen on the left side of figure 7). After big discussion on the backyardaquaponics.com forum, I came with some options:

1. Mechanical aeration through a water wheel and some wind up mechanism or a hot air turbine connected to a fire.

Hard to implement and maintain due to its high complexity. Will need regular manual labor to control its working (e.g. every 30minutes someone

should heat up fire or wind up a weight). 2. A more expensive aerator that has a built in battery. (E.g. Deep blue Professional 5)

Not feasible due to its high cost (120US$) and the need to import it. 3. An extra battery powered aerator (15US$) combined with 2 sets of rechargeable batteries and a

charger (30US$) Possible within the budget (total=45US$ + transport/import) The benefit of having a backup even if the original aerator breaks down

4. A small 6v water pump or air pump (25US$) that can run on a motorcycle battery (??US$), combined with a battery charger (25US$)

Possible within the budget Need assessment if it can provide enough oxygen.

We’ve discussed some more options but most proved too expensive due to the high local prices for solar panels, car batteries and inverters. I would recommend option three due to its low costs and additional benefit of having a spare aerator.

2.5 Training the beneficiaries

In order for the beneficiaries to be successful Aquaponics farmers we’ve started the project with a two day training (figure 9). Later on more training will follow once the systems are being build.. Desta and I have been teaching together. We’ve divided the topics equally. I was responsible for basics of vegetable growing, taking care of the fish and the marketing/business approach. In this we’ve tried to make the training as much practical as possible. Approximately 1/3 lectures, 1/3 greenhouse experience and 1/3 discussions on how to do marketing. PowerPoint files of the training have been saved for usage in other trainings. I’ve spend some time with Lemma to teach him about the way we trained so he can copy the training to the two other project sites.

2.6 Building the Aquaponics systems This part of the internship has dominated my time and thoughts throughout all 3 months. I’ve come to Ethiopia with the knowledge that some things needed to be arranged before we could start building. After three months of talks, communication with Addis Abeba and visits to the local government we still didn’t receive any approval. In Ethiopia the money for NGO’s involved with Microfinance is under government control. This means that all expenditures need to be recorded with receipts and any receipt with a date before the project was granted will not be imbursed. In other words, only with complete formal recognition one can start buying even the smallest components of the system. Before each visit to the governmental office we were hopeful, but after each visit they told us about another issue. Just to give one example: One time we came with all the requested paperwork, but then it turned out that one more paper is needed with the signature of the director who is in Addis and not in Awassa. Somehow protocol subscribes that the director himself needs to be in the office to sign personally. This means another three days of waiting. Unfortunately a lot of time and money has been spend with seemingly no progress, although we are getting managed to finalize most paperwork. One Aquaponics system has been built (figure 10) during the last weeks of the internship, while writing this the plan is to start building the next few systems during the month of January. During construction many problems have occurred that took some time to fix. In four

Figure 9 Aquaponics training

days we’ve finished the building and three more days have been spend on fine-tuning. We’ve changed some design characteristics to prevent further problems during construction of the next systems.

2.7 Maintaining the GCME system and experimenting with new crops When first seeing the system already established at GCME it didn’t produce anything. The project leaders just came back from the U.S.A. and the person in charge let many fish die and he did not harvest anything. Apart from this many weeds were growing around the system. I’ve cleared the system of many old plants while replacing them with new ones. Especially during the first weeks when there wasn’t much to do due to financial issues, I’ve decided to dedicate much of my time to clear the system and make it a good example for the beneficiaries. The plants were growing poorly without the healthy dark green color. The pH was right and also the fish were growing healthily and therefore we had no idea on how to solve this. We decided to add Iron Chelate (EDDHA) that I managed to get from a nearby commercial farm, the Iron Chelate proved to solve all problems at once. Although after 2 weeks the same symptoms started to occur……… After checking some crop literature we suspected a potassium deficiency, at first we tried to solve this by producing our own potassium through a recipe from Aquaponic Gardening (Sylvia Bernstein, 2011). The crops showed some improvement, but not quite satisfactory. Therefore I have added Potassium sulphate (also obtained from a nearby commercial farmer), which proved to make the big difference. In order to select the right crops I’ve decided to plant as much different crops as possible as a sort of experiment. Next to this it would generate beautiful samples to take along when performing the marketing research. Showing what we can grow at which quality could be a good help to convince local businesses of our added value. I experimented using seed trays and direct planting into the basin, the latter proved to work better in most cases. Crops that were planted (see figure 11 for some examples):

Figure 10 Building the Aquaponics system

Basil, Thyme, Parsley, Red leaved Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Zucchini, Cucumber, Cantaloupe melon, Mint, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Sweet Pepper, Rucola (Lettuce), Pak Choi, Bok Choi, Red Radish, Russian Kale, Spinach and Eggplant. Especially Broccoli and Cauliflower were given main attention since the first marketing interviews indicated a high demand for these vegetables. Bear in mind that the pictures below are taken at different growth stages, not all pictures therefore show fully grown vegetables. The pictures indicate vegetables that were sown, transplanted and grown during the time of internship (except for Parsley and thyme).

Red Lettuce (Curly) Red Lettuce (smooth) Russian Kale Red Radish

Chinese Pak-Choi Strawberries Curly Lettuce Brussel Sprout

Summer Squash (Zucchini) Broccoli Purple Broccoli Cucumber

Cauliflower Basil Local Lettuce Parsley

Chinese cabbage Pak Choi Sweet Pepper Thyme

Figure 11: Examples of grown vegetables

Apart from planting we have also spend a lot of time on cleaning the system, partly because we suspected that some anaerobic zones had established in the fish tank leading to nutrient problems (figure 12). Next to this I wanted to set a high standard for the beneficiaries, therefore I’ve spend quite some time on clearing the greenhouse from weeds (figure 12E).

Figure 12 A. Cleaning the filter Figure 12 B. Cleaning the small fishtanks

Figure 12 C. Cleaning the piping Figure 12 D. Cleaning the big fish tank

Figure 12 E. 13 Removing weeds from the greenhouse Figure 12 F.14 Filling the growbed with extra gravel

2.8 Writing a Grow guide During the first months of growing crops in the system at the GCME compound, it turned out that not all crops proved equally successful and some needed more attention than others. I started with this after seeing that the Basil plants were producing very big leaves, which are commonly not considered tasteful. After doing some research I discovered they right way to harvest while maintaining a good plant growth. All the practical knowledge that I’ve gained through some basic research, experience in the greenhouse and remarks from shops/hotels/restaurants is now gathered in a grow guide that (maybe after translation) could help the beneficiaries in maintaining a high crop quality that can be marketed for a good price. This grow guide can be found in a separate document.

2.9 Networking and dissemination activities As in any setting it is important to build up a network of people that could benefit the project. In this case we will mainly need good relationship with in- and output suppliers and it can be very useful to have people with knowledge available in Awassa. In this case connections were made with Awassa University and some commercial farmers that do have knowledge about the markets, inputs provisions (e.g. seeds or minerals). As explained before we had difficulties with the growth in the system at the GCME compound, after Rutger came with the idea of adding Iron I went about trying to contact some commercial farmers to see whether they could help us out. Danny Koppes from Klaver Flowers immediately offered a helping hand and after showing me his Lilly farm he has given me an overview of all available minerals and fertilizers

which would be at our disposal at any given time. From here I’ve got in contact with Jan Prins of Paprikana farm, who has also supported the project with strawberry and different lettuce seedlings Apart from this I’ve discussed several things with a teacher on the Agricultural campus of Awassa, who later has taken about 60 students to visit the system (figure 14). Apart from these students I somehow got in contact with the organizers of a governmental training program that wanted to include a visit to us in their training. Government officials from each province that were in charge of the fisheries and livestock dropped by (figure 13). This proved beneficial because the officials in charge of Awassa where there as well. Other contact hae arisen from the marketing study and can prove valuable later on. All contacts have been documented in an excel sheet, see Annex C for an overview of dissemination activities.

Figure 13 Government officials from livestock and fisheries departments visiting for a training

Figure 14 Teaching students of Awassa University

3 Reflective Engineering

3.1 A positive critical Understanding Aquaponics After hearing for the first time about Aquaponics it sounded too good to be true and I did become a bit of a sceptic. Somehow I got involved because it still attracts me. I want to use this internship to understand

its working and its possible potential, since till now it seems that the main group applying aquaponics are rich westerners with some spare time and a backyard.

Keep my critical focus but using it to benefit the project All throughout the first months in Ethiopia I’ve experienced the difficulty of maintaining an Aquaponics system. In this case it was especially hard for me due to the fact that I wasn’t familiar with the technology yet. I’ve started planting immediately but soon it turned out that most of the crops failed to a nutrient deficiency. Only after two months of testing, replanting and adding extra nutrients (Iron Chelate and Potassium Sulphate) we managed to get the system working. In the meanwhile I’ve really doubted whether we should build these system at the houses of local people. Why should we bother them with something that seems destined to fail? Now after 3 months of working on an Aquaponics system I can see the fruits and I’m seeing the potential. The systems will need someone with knowledge to make sure the nutrient balance is in order (this is arranged in the project) and when you calculate the possible profits the benefits are enormous. So therefore I do think that the main determining factor for a successful project is the presence of an Aquaponics Expert. Since this expert is present I’ve regained my hope that the project will be successful During the process I’ve also spend hours on the Backyardsaquaponics.com forum to report about the issues we are experiencing. On some topics I’ve got such big discussions, that I received more than thirty reactions within 2 days. I became clear that many people where critical about starting such a project in Africa. I’ve tried to turn the discussion to positive outcomes which resulted in some creative solutions to the power problems experienced.

3.2 Communication skills in a cross-cultural setting During group work in the MSc program I’ve come to realize the importance of good communication skills in a cross-cultural setting. Therefore I would like to improve my communication skills through:

Regular individual reflection on my performance

Asking feedback from colleagues

Trying to observe characteristics of Ethiopian communication and see whether my own style could be adapted to this and whether my own communication style can actually be of benefit to both parties.

A biweekly personal reflection moment and the keeping of a field diary in which I will also note down observations on communications

Reflection on the first month in Ethiopia (01-10-2015) After getting some training on consultancy by Erik van Slobbe (during the Spain Practical this year), I now felt more like a consultant than ever. During these first talks I was still a bit insecure about my role, am I a student or a project consultant? But soon I realized that if the project was to succeed I shouldn’t hide behind the fact that I’m just an intern. TGS actually used me as an extension of their office in The Netherlands and therefore I decided to better act accordingly, above all this would really give me the chance to learn how to work in an African context without other Foreigners that share my cultural background. Already during the first days in Ethiopia the frustrations about dealing with a different culture started to come. People would make promises without keeping them and appointments kept being pushed forward. In all this chaos I was constantly being pulled and dragged between two parties. The (almost daily) skype

calls with TGS in the Netherlands in which we discussed ways to put pressure on the local partners to transfer the project money so we could start building. And after these calls I would in discuss with the local partner how we should continue. And in these discussions I had to act/talk independently, while adapting the message to the Ethiopian context that I was trying to get used to. In the talks with the local partner (Desta especially) I constantly tried to be culturally sensitive and understanding, while at the same time I knew something needed to be done or the project might fail completely. All solutions that we thought of during our skype calls were practical, e.g. How to get the money there without the bureaucracy of Ethiopia. While I would say our solutions would easily solve the problems experienced I soon noticed that our local partner saw the problems from a completely different perspective. While we looked for practical solutions, he was more concerned about the relational side of the issue. An example: The project money should be booked via the head office of GCME in Addis Abeba. We realized that the head office seems a bureaucratic maze which most probably will take more than a month to book the money to our building account. Our solution was to use my bank account and I would withdraw money every day for a week and the full budget would be available at once. Of course the head office would not appreciate this, but they didn’t keep their promises and something needs to happen now. When discussing this with Desta he didn’t see it as a solution since the relation with the Director would be severely damaged resulting in bigger problems along the way, not in the least the possibility of him losing his job. So what can you do to solve this ‘stalemate’? I understand both viewpoints clearly, but how to find a middle way? I tried to push for communication between the head office and the local office, since it seemed there was a lack of it. I would hear things via TGS that were not communicated with the local office at all. In my personal communications with Desta I also realized that were in Holland putting pressure would make things go faster, on him it seemed to have the opposite effect. Therefore I tried to give up putting pressure, something which I found difficult. In the end I did put pressure with the offer of taking over tasks to relieve him so that he would have time for these new tasks. This seemed to work better, although the progress was slow. In all this I’ve learned to take communication seriously to check whether I really understand the core of the problem, which in this case was not as practical as we thought but also not only relational as the local partner perceived the problem. I do see now what people mean when they say that by investing time in building relationships you can get many more things done in an African setting. Another seemingly minor point (although I think it can have a big impact) is illustrated by the following. When I met with the director GCME Awassa. I kind of told him of all the good I did since I arrived and how the system is finally producing because of me finding and adding Iron-Chelate to the water, just to show the value of my presence. But actually when reflecting on this I thought about what I have achieved with this? Indirectly I did say that before I came the project was a failure, something that is somewhat true. But I undermined the knowledge and efforts that the local workers put in it, with whom I worked together. My goal for future communications is to uplift my local partners by talking proudly about their abilities to give them confidence so they can make the difference. This as opposed to enforcing the image that Aquaponics is a western technology that would be difficult to master for an Ethiopian. Second reflection (23-11-2015) Right now I’ve been in Ethiopia for three months and although people have promised me almost every week that we could start next week, still no government permission has been granted. Right now I’m starting to disbelieve that it will ever happen and I feel that I’ve failed my task here. I realized that my dedication to the project has declined and that I’m not enjoying my work anymore. Therefore I’ve started to let go my hopes of the permission and just wait patiently while starting to arrange everything that is possible. This doesn’t mean that I’m not calling/Emailing to make things work, but that I’ll have to change my attitude. Therefore I’ve finalized shopping lists, adjusted the designs several times, started to inform

about the prices, prepared a sort of planning and focused most my time on making the current Aquaponics system as profitable as possible. I didn’t think that I could get frustrated about time management in Africa since I’ve experienced these things before, but now I’m realizing the impact a government can have on development. I used to criticize people for always blaming the government for limited development, but now I see how a project that could have a big benefit for the local communities can be completely ruined by the government. The project is now already 4 months behind on schedule and there seems to be no change whatsoever. Next to this I’ve been pushing for the projects marketing junior to drop by in Awassa, but each time I call/mail there seems to be either a misunderstanding or a problem. After my bi-weekly phone calls for 2.5months, I’ve contacted Maja (the project leader) and suddenly there seems to be no problem whatsoever and everything was arranged. A few days later I’ve contacted all involved person to make sure it’s fine and it turned out that nobody though it was going to work out. Apparently they didn’t read my emails nor understood the solution that we came up with. After explaining myself once again it was solved but only after pushing the involved persons to contact each other to arrange things. I’ve learned from this that waiting in Africa should be performed actively, while addressing one person on his responsibility especially. In this trying to maintain a good relationship by not only focusing on the issues at hand but also on complimenting and encouraging the involved partners. In the beginning I’ve made the mistake to take promise for something that will actually be kept, I realize know that the meaning of the word promise seems to have a less definite meaning here. But still I think it is good to confront people with things that you consider bad, since after confronting they did understand that they hadn’t been completely fair or in the least both parties had gained some understanding of how the other party perceives the issues at hand. One time I’ve become quite upset with my colleagues and after sharing this suddenly a lot of things were arranged that were supposedly impossible. Therefore I do think that I’ve been acting too politely/nice in the beginning, trying to avoid confrontation. In the end some confrontation (without disrespecting the other person) proved beneficial for the project and even our relationship improved through a better understanding of each other’s viewpoints and annoyances. I think it is crucial in these cross-cultural issues to understand and respect the (dominant) culture (whether it’s a business culture, NGO culture or just Ethiopian Culture) while not neglecting to give feedback on parts of it that seem obviously wrong. This might improve the work culture directly or indirectly through a better understanding of cultural and personal differences.

3.3 Identifying key factors for success of a project I want to try to incorporate my current experiences in Zambia and Zimbabwe with the observations during this internship to identify key factors for successful development (related to agriculture) in a region. I don’t want to come up with a simple list of key factors only, but the goal will be to identify key elements in the way you conduct and start up a project, this will be done through:

Being involved in the development of a marketing strategy

Engaging in discussions with project partners on how business thinking might benefit the project. Next to this opportunity will be sought to discuss this also with other NGO staff or consultants that I might meet during my time abroad

Applying the (critical) analytical skills that I’ve obtained during my MSc to assess issues and to think of constructive feedback.

Creating ownership through all possible means All throughout my internship I’ve met people that got excited about Aquaponics the moment I started talking about it. The first reaction indicated that they were happy that I had come to Ethiopia to teach their people new ‘Western’ technologies that could help them to finally develop. It seemed that they immediately believed in the success of the Aquaponics model. Even people that I’ve showed around in the system (almost every week) were astonished and I hardly seemed to receive the critical questions that I got from my classmates while being in Wageningen. At some times a lack of criticism from their side amazed me. When asking the beneficiaries whether they see any obstacles, their simple answer was: “You’ve thought it out, so you’re probably right and we are therefore going to make a good profit.” Although this seems logic, it got me thinking whether they consider it their own project, or just another project from a western NGO? And of course it is the project of a western NGO, but the project aim is to support them to start their own business. Part of this apathy (if that is the right word) can be explained through cultural differences. Even when observing different companies, I see that many workers are used to take assignments from their bosses without asking the whereabouts of the task they received. They seem to be discouraged from questioning their bosses or superiors. And when no specific task is assigned, it seems better to do nothing at all than to take the risk of doing a wrong task. One friend of mine almost got fired because he often asked his boss about the reasons why he had to do certain tasks. These employee-supervisor relations are quite different from the way things are arranged in the Netherlands I think. Most beneficiaries haven’t completed their education and/or have never farmed before and therefore lack any knowledge that could help them to critically evaluate Aquaponics. When I considered these factors I started to understand the big trust they had placed in the knowledge of me and my colleague, they didn’t know any better than to be amazed by these western technologies. But still I think that what I’m describing here can be a main bottleneck. When they see the systems as something western, they might easily give up when things go wrong and ask the NGO to solve their problems since it is the technology from the NGO that is not functioning as they expected. I think that this is something typical in many situation of malfunctioning irrigation interventions or other modernization efforts. The big question to ask is: How do we make it THEIR project? Especially with aquaponics it will take some struggle before one can reap the benefits, therefore the motivation to be involved in this project should be right from the beginning. There are no easy gains in Aquaponics, especially not on the short-term. A part of these described problems are addressed in the Aquaponics contract they have to sign. After all they will have to pay back the investment made. They will be the ones responsible and we are only supporting. This is also something I’ve also emphasized when I introduced the project to the beneficiaries. Next to this it is something we can pay attention to at the trainings, have some sessions where they will have to define possible expected problems and how to deal with it. Something which we should maybe do at the end of the training after they have gained some knowledge that could help them to reflect on the project. But also small things can make a difference. Encouraging them on what they are doing right instead of only helping them to fix the issues. My ideal will be that they can be proud of what they’ve done. And probably their communities will only refer the success of the beneficiaries to the help/money that they received. Something which might be discouraging for the beneficiaries themselves, since they’ve put so much effort in it. Therefore every encouragement will be of importance and every incentive to make it their project should be created.

One small thing that made me think about this is the offer of some western people to help building the systems. I’ve refused their help since I considered that it might encourage this thinking and give the wrong signal. It will give the signal of it being a western project, built by westerners. Therefore we’ve suggested that the beneficiaries will organize themselves and help each other to build while even inviting family members to join in construction. During the training we’ll set up one systems all together so that everyone knows how it’s done. When we visit each of their houses for construction we can therefore let them be in charge while we just help and give advice when needed. Through all these things we hope to stimulate entrepreneurship, creativity and most of all local ownership of the project. I’m now starting to understand the complexity of all the scientific debate about the creation of ownership. By just making it a micro-finance scheme you’d think you’ve created ownership, which is truth. But by doing everything yourself instead of letting them take the initiative, you can also stimulate apathy. Considering and incorporating gender differences Throughout the MIL master program I’ve been lectured about the importance of incorporating gender differences in projects or research. When first coming to Ethiopia I had hardly thought about that until Maja Slingerland asked me to think of a way to incorporate this in the baseline study. I did this through asking the farmers who is responsible for the system, on which the men always indicated that they were responsible. But the next question: Who is performing most daily work on the system? Was most of the time answered with the statement that their wives would probably do most of the work since they’re out working most of the time. After asking a few of these questions I started to realize the mistake I’ve made to focus on the household head only during the baseline interviews. Next to this our training budget was based on only having the men over for training, something which doesn’t make sense if it is actually the women who would do most of the work. Therefore asked my colleagues to see if we can include the women in the training. And after a short discussion they all agreed that it would be best for the project to have their wives on the training as well. Therefore on one of the three training days we’ll ask the women to join as well. This will be on the day that we’ll have to discuss the marketing and the vegetable growing training, since these two aspects will be of main importance for them as well. On the day that we’re building we’ll leave it to the men to work together to set up the systems. When performing the baseline study, some men purposefully took their wives along for the interviews. This surprised me since it indicated to me that they really consider it as something they’ll have to do together. I’m a bit embarrassed that I forgot about the gender aspect all along and I realized how easy it is to follow the ‘normal’ path without thinking outside the box. During the courses I’ve always considered this gender aspect as something logic that you can hardly neglect, but now I’ve seen for myself that it is important to emphasize it, otherwise one will forget about it for sure. Learning from different projects During my internship I’ve tried to meet with other NGO’s, commercial farmers and I’ve also met subsistence farmers. I’ve tried to observe their projects and the way they organize things to see what we can learn from each other. I’ve had contact with ProAfrica, an Ethiopian NGO what is developing businesses. They have visited our project with one of their trainings and I’ve been amazed by the budgets they had available for training. I was invited to join them (after giving them a lecture) to eat at the most luxurious resorts/hotels and participants received around 60euro per day to attend the training, a basic monthly salary in Ethiopia. When I discussed these issues with the trainers they mentioned their discomfort with the way the way things were going, while indicating that they didn’t had any option. I understood that often these things

are common and that these daily allowance are kind of fixed by the government. Apart from this I’ve heard from NGO workers that some trainings would not receive any students if a daily allowance would not be provided, this is going against my common sense. I would rather expect payment from people that want to receive training. When talking about this with my colleagues, I was suggesting to keep the training budget low by ordering local food. But my colleagues started arguing with me that it would be good to offer them a good meal with meat, something which they would otherwise never eat. And when looking at the project budget it kind of made sense to provide good food since there is enough money available. So maybe I’m thinking about to many details now, but I would rather save money on the training (even if it’s just 10$ per beneficiary) to give the beneficiaries a lower microfinance loan. But I’m realizing now that good food at trainings seem to have become common good at many NGO’s, maybe it’s not wrong but we have to be sure that these luxury aspects of the training do not become an incentive in itself. So after thinking this through I realized that with our project this won’t be a problem since the beneficiaries are already giving a down payment of 75$ each, which is their average monthly salary. Apart from this the will need to pay back the investment, so the food will most probably not impact their incentives to be involved in the project.

3.4 Integration of business and development Throughout the BSc and MSc programs and by reading literature on development, I’ve come to think that a business focus can really benefit development work. Too many projects are failing and seem to even halter development and I’ve even become a sceptic. Therefore I want to learn how business models and business thinking can benefit development work, this will be done through:

Being involved in the development of a marketing strategy

Engaging in discussions with project partners on how business thinking might benefit the project. Next to this opportunity will be sought to discuss this also with other NGO staff or consultants that I might meet during my time abroad

Reading literature on the integration of business thinking in the development work

Writing a short summary on how I can include the findings in my basic personal vision on development work that I want to have on paper before receiving my MSc graduation paper (This vision paper will be outside the scope of this internship).

See chapter 3.3: Creating ownership. All throughout the internship my concern grew for the importance of developing businesses instead of just doing projects. A business were peoples have to invest their money/time is more likely to create motivated and determined entrepeneurs. Besides this it allows for an easy expansion of the project due to money that returns to the project via a micro finance construction.

4 References

Bernstein, S. (2011). Aquaponic Gardening: A Step‐By‐Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish New Society Publishers. FAO (2014). Small-scale aquaponics food production: Integrated fish and plant farming. Christopher Somerville, Moti Cohen, Edoardo Pantanella, Austin Stankus and Alessandro Lovatelli. FAO Fisheries an Aquaculture technical paper 589. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Rome, 2014

5 Annexes

Annex A: Internship Programme The project The internship will be part the project:

Aquaponics Ethiopia: Developing a business model for sustainable implementation of small scale aquaponics systems improving food and nutrition security of rural and peri-urban households in Ethiopia.

Aquaponics systems are similar to hydroponics systems with as main feature the incorporation of aquaculture and the continuous circulation of nutrient rich water. Water from the fishponds is pumped through a basin with crops after which the water returns back filtered into the fishpond, the cropping basin acts as a biological filter. Both the fish and the produced crops are marketable outputs. For this project twelve Aquaponics systems are going to be built around Hawasa in Ethiopia. The systems will be set up at local farms with the farmers being responsible for the operation and maintenance with support from the local project partner. The duration of the project is 27 months and within this time the aim is that the systems will keep running without external funding. Wageningen University will be leading the project together with TGS business development, the University of Addis Abeba and the Great Commision Ministy. The project is already running and during the time of internship the main activity will be setting up and starting the aquaponics systems at the different project sites around Hawasa. This will start around the 15th of August until the 30th of November. Activities:

Conducting a baseline study: Interviewing the involved farmers for further follow up of the project. This is also a good opportunity to get to know the farmers and to get an indication areas that I can get involved with to support the project and its beneficiaries.

Constructing and starting up the aquaponics systems: This activity will be very practical and basically it’s just helping out with the building and starting up of the systems.

Developing a marketing strategy: Currently it is unclear which crops and cropping patterns can fit both the aquaponics system and the (local) market. A basic assessment of the local market will be performed, relating both to inputs (seeds etc.) and outputs (agricultural produce).

All-round intern: Next to the previously mentioned tasks I will see during the internship where my expertise might be needed. As with most projects there are always bottlenecks and issues that are unexpected. In this I will also be a direct link between the organizations located in the Netherlands and the local organizations that are executing the project in Ethiopia.

A more detailed action plan/proposal will be provided by the intern before the start of the internship.

Annex B Learning Agreement

The specific learning outcomes for this work placement are:

I’ve chosen for an MSc internship to gain skills on applying the knowledge that I’ve obtained during my education at Wageningen University in a professional setting. The main aim of this internship is to assess whether working in a NGO/Consultancy setting suits me. I’ve started this master with the intention of working in the development sector and I hope that this internship will help me to experience this in order to see whether this is really what I want after completion of my MSc. Next to this the experiences gained and the network that I’ll enter, will be a benefit to the process of finding a job at a later stage. In order to make this more concrete I’ve written down the following learning objectives: Learning goal 1: Integration of business and development Throughout the BSc and MSc programs and by reading literature on development, I’ve come to think that a busyness focus can really benefit development work. Too many projects are failing and seem to even halter development and I’ve even become a sceptic. Therefore I want to learn how business models and business thinking can benefit development work, this will be done through:

Being involved in the development of a marketing strategy

Engaging in discussions with project partners on how business thinking might benefit the project. Next to this opportunity will be sought to discuss this also with other NGO staff or consultants that I might meet during my time abroad

Reading literature on the integration of business thinking in the development work

Writing a short summary on how I can include the findings in my basic personal vision on development work that I want to have on paper before receiving my MSc graduation paper (This vision paper will be outside the scope of this internship).

Learning goal 2: Identifying key factors for success of a project I want to try to incorporate my current experiences in Zambia and Zimbabwe with the observations during this internship to identify key factors for successful development (related to agriculture) in a region. I don’t want to come up with a simple list of key factors only, but the goal will be to identify key elements in the way you conduct and start up a project, this will be done through:

See activities at LG1

Applying the (critical) analytical skills that I’ve obtained during my MSc to assess issues and to think of constructive feedback.

The output of learning goals 1 and 2 will be a reflection and a concise vision on key factors for success of development projects. Learning goal 3: Communication skills in a cross-cultural setting During group work in the MSc program I’ve come to realize the importance of good communication skills in a cross-cultural setting. Therefore I would like to improve my communication skills through:

Regular individual reflection on my performance

Asking feedback from colleagues

Trying to observe characteristics of Ethiopian communication and see whether my own style could be adapted to this and whether my own communication style can actually be of benefit to both parties.

A biweekly personal reflection moment and the keeping of a field diary in which I will also note down observations on communications

Learning goal 4: Understanding Aquaponics Besides these more academically focused skills, I would also like to know the practicalities of building and maintaining Aquaponics systems. In my master degree I’ve learned many skills, but it seems to me that some basic practical skills on specific topics are missing. This is one of the reasons why I applied for this internship.

Being involved with the construction of Aquaponics systems

Being involved in monitoring the set up phase of the systems

Finding room to experiment This goal is achieved when I’m able to design and construct an Aquaponics system without having to consult literature anymore. Next to this the field diary will include notes on the specifics of Aquaponics. In all these goals I will ask constructive feedback from local supervisor and supervisor in Wageningen. I will report to them briefly every three weeks (in total 5 times) and write a reflection paper by the end of the internship. The focus will be to reach all learning goals within the timeframe of the internship.

The process and personal academic development will be supervised by Harm Boesveld The content and academic writings will be supervised by Maja Slingerland

The requirements on the report of the work placement are:

A baseline study including analyses

A personal reflection paper on the learning outcomes and the personal academic achievements

A basic report on the marketing strategy (inputs and outputs)

Annex C Dissemination Activities Contact person visitors Organisation Purpose of visit Date Phone Email Website

Marina Ciceri 2 Progetto Continenti

Interested in starting Aquaponics in Awassa

18-09-2015 +251929328928

- http://www.progettocontinenti.org

Caspar Waalewijn

7 TEAR Netherlands Interested in the project 08-11-2015 +251938068892

cwaalewijn@tear.nl

http://www.tearnetherlands.nl

Wim van den Bos

20 ProAfrica Training government officials of Livestock and fisheries depart.

02-11-2015 +251927939730

wvdbos@proafricamw.com

www.proafricamw.com

Bert Schuilenburg

Aqua farming consult

Training 20 government officials of Livestock and fisheries departments

02-11-2015 info@aquafarmingconsult.com

www.aquafarmingconsult.com

Jan Prins 1 Paprikana Farm Interested in the technology 02-10-2015 +251911513910

jan@paprikana.nl

www.paprikana.nl

Paoly Rasolomanana

25 Awassa university Exposing of students to new technologies

01-12-2015 +251926159915

paoly07ha@gmail.com

http://www.hu.edu.et/hu/

Paoly Rasolomanana

40 Awassa university Exposing of students to new technologies

03-12-2015 +251926159915

paoly07ha@gmail.com

http://www.hu.edu.et/hu/

Michael Wood 2 NIRAS, Witteveen en Bos

Interested in the technology 23-12-2015 +251920886523

michael.wood909@btinternet.com

www.niras.com/dc

Marina Ciceri: Leader of a Progetto Continenti project in Hawassa. They are currently developing farming activities, next to the clinic and pre-school that they have established. They have interest to start an Aquaponics farm on their compound and are currently in the process of arranging funding for this. Caspar Wallewijn: Leader of all TEAR Netherlands project in Ethiopia. Involved in many agricultural projects and interested in the possibilities of Aquaponics Wim van den Bos and Bert Schuilenburg: The are starting some fish projects in the vicinity of Debre Zeit. They have visited the Aquaponics project together with 20 government officials from all over Ethiopia. These government officials are the head of all Liverstock and Fisheries departments of the country. Jan Prins: Owner of Paprikana farm in Hawassa. He is very interested in the technology since he wants to move his farm completely towards Hydrofoil technologies. Appart from this he has supplied us with seedlings and knowledge on how to make improvements. Jan Prins has suggested to work together to market the crops sine he has all the necessary connections. Paoly Radolomanana: Teacher at Hawassa University. He has taken some 65 students to visit to project. They were given a 1hour lecture about Aquaponics after which they were allowed to ask question and look around. Michael Wood: A water expert doing projects in Ethiopia and South-Sudan. Has heard about Aquaponics but never seen it before.

Annex D Baseline notes

5.1 Introduction These notes have been developed to assure that the baseline will be conducted the same way in all

three project locations. Some questions proved open for interpretation and therefore it is important to

check this guide on how to apply the baseline.

5.2 Previous work In August 2015 Tristin Bouwman (Student from Wageningen University) has conducted the baseline in

Showa Robit. Experiences gained there have let to the development of these notes. In

November/December 2015 the baseline has been conducted in the Hawassa project by Bouke Kappers

(student of Wageningen University). For any important questions related to the baseline or this

document please contact: b_kappers@hotmail.com.

5.3 Notes on conducting the baseline A4: Just note down the GPS coordinates using a GPS device or a Smartphone with GPS functionality. This

is mainly for project purposes to make it easy to find beneficiaries.

B4+B5: First enquire if the person is engaging in farming activities, if not these questions can be

answered with 2=no.

C7: In most cases this will be a private tap, but probe a little bit to check wether they might have a

private or communal well that they might use as well. (make a small note on this).

Table D: Fill in the table for all household members, thus also those that are not family but are part of

the household (e.g. eating together). Check codes underneath the table for easy data processing.

E6: This question is double but you can check it with previous answer

E14+15: In some cases loans are seasonal, meaning that they are repaid after harvest or after a certain

amount of months. In this case they might not know the annual interest rate. Just write down the sum

of the loan, the interest (either in % or in Birr) and the number of months over which the loan is repaid.

F1-F7b: Check what kind of fasting they do. These questions only apply to Orthodox fasts! Protestant

Christians in most cases will state that they are fasting, but when they fast they often abstain from

eating anything for a certain amount of hours, not days or weeks. This contrary to Orthodox Christians

for whom fasting means abstaining from animal product for a certain amount of time. So probe to find

out what is the case. Questions F4-F7b can be skipped for non-orthodox fasts, unless they really

resemble the Orthodox way of fasting

F8: I’ve added dates to this table to make it easier. Start by asking which animal product (+ how many

times a week) they eat during the current season. Fill this in at the right cell of the table. You can

continue with Fish, vegetables and Fruits. When this is done you can move on to the next row by asking

how this will change towards the next season. This way you can go through the table until it is

completed. If people say that there is no change according to the seasons, probe to make sure this is the

case. After probing several times and people persist that there is no change you can leave the rest of the

table open.

F9: Just ask basic questions about what dishes they consume. Per meal (breakfast, lunch, supper) write

down at least 2/3 different options if you can. Snack are food producs consumed inbetween breakfast

and lunch, lunch and supper or in-between supper and breakfast. Do not write down all the ingredients

this will come in section F10.

G. Ask if there are any micro-enterprises by ANY of the household members. Fill in as much information

as they can provide you with. Probe a little bit to see if they understand your question. Hiring out some

rooms for example can also be seen as a microenterprise

I1-9. Only to be filled if they own ARABLE land.

J. Only to be filled in if they have livestock

K. Only to be filled in if they have animal product that they sell

M. These are background questions to check motivation etc.. Asking additional information can be

beneficial to get a good picture of who the beneficiary is.

5.4 Notes on data processing (filling in the Excel file)

Master sheet: Just follow the table and fill in the data.

From cell CO onwards you can the inputs one by one, for each type of input there are 4 columns

available. So do not add all input information to one single cell. The same accounts for Production by

field. In the excel there is production by field1 (DH), production by field2 (DX) and production by field3

(EN)

Household information sheet: Just fill in all data gathered under section B and W of the questionnaire.

Microenterprise information sheet: Just fill in all information as gathered in section H of the

questionnaire.

Food consumption sheet:

Collum A: Code you have given the farmer

Collum B-G: No need to change, leave information as provided.

Fill in the table according to table F8. On the far right side of the table on can fill in the information

gathered in table F9 and F10.

In cases where consumption doesn’t change per season, just color the cells orange and leave them

empty. No not repeat all data this will be laborious to fill in and to process. (E.g. rows 28-35, beneficiary

4: He only changes consumption between fasting and non-fasting. All other cells are colored orange

since consumption doesn’t change throughout the year. Please check carefully how the table has been

filled so far as to follow the same procedure.