E- discussion of Indigenous Plants in Soilless Systems

27/06-17/07 E- discussion of Indigenous Plants in Soilless Systems - INCiTiS - FOOD

• What experiences or examples can you share about growing indigenous African plants in hydroponic or other soilless systems?
• ​Which “plants” have shown promise in your context?​How have ‘digital tools’ or platforms helped identify, monitor, or optimise their performance?​
• Are there mobile apps, databases, or knowledge-sharing portals that ‘support decision-making’ for plant selection and care?​
  
• What are the ‘current barriers and challenges’ scaling these crops via digital innovation ecosystems?​

AGLOBE Development Center: The African Eggplant leaves, also known as Garden Egg leaves (Efo Igbo) and scientifically referred to as Solanum macrocarpon, have been successfully cultivated using a soilless system (specifically aquaponics) at the ADC Living Lab. The results from this trial have been highly encouraging, demonstrating the crop’s adaptability and promising performance under these innovative growing conditions.

Sylvere MBOUMBA Lecturer: At our Living Lab, we experimented with soilless cultivation of black nightshade (Solanum nigrum). We obtained acceptable results, but we believe these results can be improved. In fact, the cultivation was carried out in a greenhouse with a covered roof in a strict aquaponic system. We plan to experiment with other African plants such as eggplant. We are currently experimenting with amaranth, which seems to be performing well, and in a few days we will evaluate the yields.

Annmarie Bangura: Indigenous African crops - specifically Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and Amaranthus tricolor - have been cultivated sustainably in NFT Aquaponic and hydroponic systems at Njala University Living Lab. These crops are not only culturally significant but also highly nutritious and are consumed almost daily in Sierra Leone. Our experience with cultivating these crops in soilless systems has been excellent, indicating high performance and adaptability which demonstrates the potential of these innovative systems in promoting sustainable agriculture in urban and peri-urban settings in Sierra Leone

Rolf Morgenstern: I was wondering, is there any real world experience in growing Moringa in hydroponics? I’m very curious whether that works. Growing Moringa (Moringa oleifera) hydroponically is an area of increasing interest, and while traditional cultivation is primarily soil-based, there are some reports and experiments exploring hydroponic cultivation of Moringa.

Annmarie Bangura: While not yet widespread or extensively documented in scientific literature, growing Moringa hydroponically is feasible and has been successfully demonstrated by some growers. It’s a promising avenue for urban farming and commercial production, especially where soil conditions are unsuitable.

INCiTiS Food Ibadan Living Lab University of Ibadan: At UI LL, we cultured African Eggplant Solanum macrocarpon successfully on the following hydroponics soilless systems; Garrasfas pet, chop and flip. We had high yield in terms of biomass, speed of growth, and palatability of the produce. We are currently testing it on the aquaponics grow beds.

Francois Stepman Advisor GFAiR: K-TOMFonio-Project. Ponic Technologies for Developing Human and Poultry Diets from Fonio Seeds and King Tuber Oyster Mushroom led by Dr I.Charles Okoli (Tropical Animal Health and Production Research Lab. Department of Animal Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Nigeria.

The research project produces innovative ponic technologies for producing human and poultry diets from forgotten crops such as fonio and KOM at urban and peri-urban environments in Nigeria. The technologies are cost-effective and utilize minimal space and time to produce highly nutritious diets in the study environments. The project creates potential income channels for urban and peri-urban farmers, new research skills for the participating researchers and introduce highly nutritious human and poultry diets to end users.