Sustainable Agriculture

The Sustainable Agriculture team is dedicated to developing alternative and sustainable agricultural solutions to alleviate poverty in western Africa. The team is currently working with Sheltering Wings in Yako, Burkina Faso and Trans World Radio in Parakou, Benin. Both clients currently have a working aquaponics system, but the type of system varies between clients. Sheltering Wings has a flood and drain system and Trans World Radio has an ebb and flow system. Throughout this year, our team has focused on reducing power consumption and costs for our clients. The development of the ebb and flow prototype was a consequence of this mission as we reduced power consumption by one pump using a manual siphon. We have also worked towards lowering the costs of water quality testing kits by introducing a Nutrient Film Technique with basil plants. Lastly, we have strived to research best practice methods for fish food making and fish feeding in order to keep the biology of the prototypes healthy. To support present and future clients, the year will conclude with final deliverables for the ebb and flow prototype including an operations and maintenance manual, a construction manual, and a troubleshooting manual.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2021/1016/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Agriculture

The Sustainable Agriculture team is addressing malnutrition through aquaponics. Aquaponics is a soil-free farming method that reduces growing periods and water consumption by 90% compared to traditional methods. The Sustainable Agriculture team works alongside its clients, Youth with a Mission and Trans World Radio, to develop and implement universal and scalable aquaponics prototypes. This year, the team designed and constructed nine working prototypes for a sensitivity analysis. The team also constructed two unique airlift pumps to create alternatives for their clients. They also produced a digital system monitor for tracking temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen in the aquaponics prototypes for our clients at Youth with a Mission. Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2022/1019/thumbnail.jp