When Palesa Seku moved back from Cape Town to Soweto in 2022, she knew she wanted to work in agriculture but needed to test herself first. A social employment programme gave her that opportunity, placing her at Soweto Aquaponics, an integrated fish-and-vegetable farming operation in the heart of the township.
By Maile Matsimela, digital editor at African Farming
Within months, she had found her answer. The operation’s directors recognised her commitment and proposed that she join them as a director. She accepted, and this year she stood on stage as the winner of the AgriCulture Gauteng Urban Farmer of the Year award.
“I wanted experience in the agricultural space, because I knew that I wanted to go into the agricultural space,” Seku told African Farming at the AgriCulture Gauteng Annual Congress and AGM held at the Obaro Conference Centre in Silver Lakes in Pretoria on 2 September, which coincided with the awards.
“I thought the opportunity was great, because I wanted to test myself out to see if it’s really something that I want to do.”
A closed-loop system that turns waste into wealth
Soweto Aquaponics combines fish production with vegetable production in a single, self-sustaining cycle. The fish provide nutrients to the water. That nutrient-rich water feeds the plants, and the plants clean the water before it returns to the fish tanks. What would normally be waste becomes a valuable resource.
The farm produces fresh fish, vegetables, herbs and seedlings, using up to 90% less water than conventional farming because the water is continuously circulated. It also supplies seedlings to backyard gardeners, schools, community projects and local farmers – a deliberate strategy to help others become food producers themselves.
“We don’t want to be the only people producing food,” Seku explains. “We want to help other people become food producers as well.”
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From tilapia to catfish – adapting to survive
The Soweto Aquaponics site was built by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture in 2018, which identified farmers already working in Soweto and brought them to the facility. There were six original farmers. Seku joined in 2022, bringing the number to seven. Today, five directors remain.
Running an aquaponics system in a township comes with serious challenges. The system depends on electricity to keep pumps running and water oxygenated. When the power goes off, the consequences can be devastating.
“If there’s no electricity, it means our pumps are not running,” Seku says. “If our pumps are not running, it means our fish tanks are not oxygenated, and our fish potentially die.”
The farm previously had solar panels as backup, but these were stolen. Security remains an ongoing concern. The electricity problem forced a key production decision: The farm switched from tilapia, which are highly sensitive to noise, temperature and power interruptions, to catfish, which can survive without electricity for more than a week.
“Right now, we are farming with catfish,” she says. “It can withstand the problems with electricity.”
The switch brought a market challenge: Many South African consumers are unfamiliar with catfish, so the farm has had to educate customers about the product. “We realised that we had to teach people about our product so that they are able to buy it from us,” Seku says.
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Community first
Soweto Aquaponics does not supply a formal market. Instead, it relies on the surrounding community, which buys produce at gate prices. “What we rely on is the community. They are the ones who buy our products. They come through and they always support us. That’s how we make our money,” she says.
The current production volume is matched to this informal market. Seku says expanding into formal retail would require more space. With aquaponics, the operation can add more fish tanks and grow beds within its existing footprint, but eventually it will need land.
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Collaboration, accreditation and agritourism
When asked what she wishes she had known before starting, Seku says it’s the importance of collaboration.
“I think the one thing I wish I had known is that collaborations are important,” she says. “When you’re starting out, you realise very quickly that you can’t do it alone. So it’s always great to have people who are backing you, whether it’s financially or with knowledge.”
Her priority now is accreditation for the farm’s training programmes. The farm already hosts farm tours and school visits – a form of agritourism – but she wants these to carry formal weight. “If we can get accreditation, like a SETA certificate, that would be great,” she says.
Through skills training, farm tours and community gardening initiatives, Seku and her colleagues aim to encourage people, particularly young people and women, to see agriculture not only as a source of food but also as a source of opportunity.
Fellow award winners and finalists
Seku was one of several farmers recognised at the awards. In the Urban Farmer of the Year category, the first runner-up was Zandile Kumalo of HyHarvest, which uses soilless growing technologies, including nutrient film technique, Dutch bucket systems and vertical farming, to produce crops in controlled greenhouse environments, supplying retailers, restaurants and packhouses. The second runner-up was Ruben Lawrenz of The Lawrenz Farm, who grows microgreens and edible flowers, and supplies customers across greater Johannesburg.
The Toyota SA/AgriSA Young Farmer of the Year Award was also presented at the ceremony. The winner of this category was PN Basson of Janelda Boerdery. The first runner-up was Mogale Maleka of AB Farms, who designs, builds and installs patented irrigation systems and uses the technology on his own farm. The second runner-up was Lesego Mohube of Langzeekoeigat farm, who at 25 is in commercial vegetable production supplying the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market. She farms tomatoes and green peppers, and has plans to expand into onions.
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Prizes and development
Dr Dalene Louw, chief executive officer of AgriCulture Gauteng, outlined the prize structure. All three urban farmer finalists are placed on a development programme and will be visited and mentored by the University of Johannesburg, which Dr Louw described as “a massive prize”. The runners-up also receive labour advisory services, and Absa and Santam are sponsoring cash prizes, with final amounts to be confirmed pending an additional international sponsorship.
Dr Louw emphasised that the value extends beyond cash. “If you add up the value that you will get in maybe travelling to another country, going on a mentorship programme in another country, then eventually that R200 000 or R300 000 that you get in cash is actually not so significant, because the experience that you gain in agriculture in other countries is amazing.”
What the adjudicators saw
The adjudicators, Prof. Mary Evans, Prof. Naudé Malan and Prof. Michael Rudolph, were united in their optimism. Prof. Evans praised the forward thinking of all finalists, noting that they were planning for challenges rather than simply reacting. Prof. Malan highlighted the combination of technical expertise with enthusiasm and passion. Prof. Rudolph brought a business perspective, emphasising strategic coherence. “Do not drift, and do not do everything for everyone,” he said. “Build this organisation in a coherent way.”
The adjudicators also noted that a new phase of agriculture is emerging: New farmers on smaller pieces of land, using biologically based methods and succeeding. “The revolution is already convincing, and the new phase of agriculture is already there. It just needs to grow.” Crucially, he said, this will not replace what exists but should complement it: “Let the one feed the other.”
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