Several Dutch companies from the food and water sectors, together with their South African partner, are poised to develop a horticultural expanse in SA’s Western Cape and consequently create 7,000 new jobs. By signing the letter of intent, Aqua-Terra Nova, For Elements and Verbosity Business Development (as well as their South African partner Agri Mega) have taken the first step in the realization of the first-ever Metropolitan Food Cluster, running on organic waste and urban wastewater. The Aqua Soil Approach was developed by the Dutch partakers and also qualifies as a CO2 reduction project.
The Aqua Soil Approach fits well within the South African context. Water scarcity, urbanization, unemployment and the amount of degraded land increases while demand for fresh food continues to rise. Malfunctioning sewage treatment plants pollute local rivers and cause agricultural products from South Africa to barely meet EU and U.S quality requirements. The reuse of wastewater and organic waste tackles the first problem. Reusing upgraded wastewater in agriculture & horticulture provides the safe and labour intensive production of food.
The Aqua Soil Approach is implemented over a period of 15 years. During this time frame, a unique wastewater system will be developed, launching a composting operation (in conjunction with production facilities) in the process. Furthermore, developers have begun setting up facilities for distribution, packaging, refrigeration and education. This provides the horticultural area (comprising an acreage of 150ha) with the knowledge and facilities necessary to ensure quality and continuing delivery of food stuffs. The consortium expects to launch the pilot phase of 5 to 10 hectares in 2014.
More information:
Aad Wubben:
[email protected]
0174 625246
Aart van den Bos:
[email protected]
0651788924
Bart van Eck:
[email protected]
0624529457