Cape Verdeans embrace aeroponics to boost produce

Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and others are many of the vegetables that come out of this farm owned by Hélder Silva, who introduced aeroponics in Cape Verde, a cultivation technique that uses 90% less water and land.

The 48 year old Silva is well known on the music scene in Cape Verde as Havy H, but now he is the face of the introduction of aeroponics in the archipelago.

"I will summarise what really caught my attention. This was agriculture with 90% less water and 90% less soil. So I, being a Cape Verdean, said: this must be oil and gold for Cape Verde, because that is precisely what we do not have"

Silva has continued with the desire to implement this technology from the United States in Cape Verde, the country where he studied and lived for about eight years, having contacted a delegate in Ibiza, Spain, who in turn authorised him to be the representative of brand in Cape Verde and the rest of Africa.

It is so simple, so easy, because you sow sitting down, you plant sitting down, you wait and you harvest. No hoe, no manure, no holes, no working the soil

The first planting at the Afroponic Purahvida farm took place on October 2, 2022, and since then the now farmer has harvested a bit of everything, from cucumber, okra, lettuce, beetroot, broccoli amongst other produce.

"In two months Cape Verde does not need to import any vegetables, because here we produce all kinds of vegetables, except tubers.

The organic products in aeroponics can be grown anywhere, from the backyard, the terrace or the veranda of the house as it uses less space than conventional agriculture or hydroponic method.