Seawater Solutions

Shrimp farms are one of the greatest polluters of coastal agriculture communities in Bangladesh and Vietnam. A typical shrimp farm using intensive culture methods can produce 800 kilograms of Nitrogen and Phosphorous waste per hectare per crop. While shrimp farming has brought thousands of rice farmers out of poverty, the common practice of discharging untreated wastes has damaged the integrity of waters shared within shrimp farm communities and the livelihoods of other land users.

Many farmers are reluctant to adopt waste treatment measures due to the large amount of space required (most shrimp farms have below 1ha of land) and tightening sales margins. However, Seawater Solutions is testing a business model which provides commercial incentives for farmers to designate land towards waste treatment by growing valuable salt tolerant vegetables on land used to treat water. 

There are more than 900,000 hectares of shrimp farms in Vietnam and Bangladesh. Approximately 90,000 hectares of this land consists of high-tech intensive shrimp producers which discharge large volumes of waste from production ponds into the environment and shared water bodies.

Discharging vast amounts of shrimp feces, undigested feed, and debris from production ponds has led to increasingly unstable production among shrimp farming communities and for other land users as well. 

Regulations in Bangladesh and Vietnam prohibit discharge of untreated wastes and require shrimp farmers to store pond waste in treatment basins; however, the limited size of typical farms mean designating land for waste treatment comes at a considerable cost. Especially as most intensive farms already designate 20-70% of farm area towards treating water before use in the production ponds. As a result, these regulations are largely ignored due to the difficulties farmers have with compliance, and pond wastes are often released directly from ponds into surrounding rivers. 

Given that 1.5 billion USD worth of shrimp was imported to Europe and the US from farms in Bangladesh and Vietnam last year, it is in the interest of importers to improve standards at farms and improve their brands. 

By providing seeds, extension services, buyback schemes from independent farmers, and a route to market for naturally salt tolerant vegetables - otherwise known as halophytes, we create an incentive mechanism which encourages farmers to designate more land towards treatment of wastes and comply with regulations from government authorities. 

Halophyte vegetables are naturally salt tolerant plants which grow on salt marshes and inter-tidal zones on beaches. While most conventional vegetables cannot be irrigated with water salinity higher than 4 parts per thousand, many halophytes can grow using water from 8-12 parts per thousand (ppt). Our flagship crops, Salicornia and Sarcocornia have grown in water as salty as 35ppt - equivalent to ocean water. Treatment systems using these vegetables have been able to remove 96-99% of total nitrogen and phosphorous from aquaculture wastes. 

Halophyte crops can fetch high prices. Fresh Salicornia can sell between 15-24 USD per kilogram at mainstream supermarkets in the UK. Based on market acceptance trials conducted in Vietnam, we expect a farmer to sell a gross income of 19.50 to 23.00 USD worth of fresh Salicornia per meter squared of production each crop. 

We have already opened trial sites at shrimp farms in Bangladesh and Vietnam, two of the world's largest shrimp producers and two of the most vulnerable to the effects of salinity intrusion and sea level rise.

Our intervention directly impacts shrimp farm owners, for whom we will provide seeds of our halophyte vegetables. Allowing the farmers to manage their own crops independently can help them build financial resilience against volatility in shrimp prices which has been severe over the past three years.

Our intervention indirectly affects other land users which depend on quality of shared water bodies by reducing the amount of waste discharged by the offending shrimp farm. This also has knock on effects among other shrimp farmers who suffer from degrading water quality 

To better understand the context in which we are operating, our partners and employees are embedded within communities at these trial sites to manage the plots and better understand local conditions, available equipment and farmer's capabilities. Furthermore, our aquaculture manager has a good understanding of shrimp farming, and has experience managing and working on shrimp farms himself. 

Turning waste treatment sites into commercially viable land will provide economic rewards for adopting more environmentally responsible, otherwise costly practices. Two of the farmers we collaborate with in Vietnam already designate a considerable portion of their land towards remediating waste water before discharging into surrounding water bodies. This has provided us with a body of water rich in organic nutrients that can be used to irrigate our crops. 

By successfully establishing our halophyte cultivation model on these farms, we hope to reward these farmers for their initiative, and demonstrate the benefits of effluent water treatment among surrounding farmers.

At this point, all efforts to cultivate halophyte vegetables using shrimp farm effluent have been for research purposes and none have established commercial production or an extension service model which provides seeds, technical assistance, and routes to market for produce. The most distinct feature which sets our efforts apart from other initiatives is the location we are operating. Bangladesh and Vietnam already have strong smallholder aquaculture industries with large numbers of actors. Vietnam, for example, has more than 700,000ha of shrimp farm land - approximately 80,000 of which includes waste remediation land suitable for halophyte cultivation. Furthermore, the rapid development of these economies and emergence of high-end cuisine will allow us to trade in the domestic market and localize our supply chains. This is not only a great preference to the retailer, but fewer supply chain actors allow the farmer to gain a larger portion of the product value. 

Our efforts to reduce pollution at shrimp farms will also improve the profile of shrimp exports to markets concerned. EU markets import $300 million worth of shrimp from Bangladesh and $860 million each year from Vietnam. Much of which is produced under conditions that would be considered below the standards of EU aquaculture regulations. Seafood traders and processors can improve their brand by in taking part in a new initiative which encourages farmers to expand their investment into waste treatment. 

Seawater solutions introduces two features to the aquaculture farms we operate; a novel high value crop and a process with which land designated for water treatment can generate value. 

Farmers incorporated in our model will be provided with seeds on credit. Either with crops imported from abroad or produced by Seawater Solutions at our seed production facility. 

Our technicians set up cultivation sites with farmers on remediation zones and treatment ponds. Irrigation equipment is automated to minimize the time farmers must spend tending crops, allowing the farmer to designate more time towards shrimp and fish. We will also construct floating beds which allow cultivation on the surface of treatment ponds. All equipment is provided to the farmer on credit. 

Technicians from Seawater Solutions will visit the farm on a regular basis to collect growth and environmental data for the crop. Two months after sowing, shoots of the halophyte crops can be trimmed and purchased by Seawater Solutions at a price previously stipulated with the farmer prior to harvest. 

Produce is then packaged and brought to domestic retailers such as specialty supermarkets and restaurants. As we progress, we also aim to produce seeds and sell to markets intended for extraction of nutritious oils and biofuels. 

Farmers must adhere to a production standard to verify product quality, where those who demonstrate a high level of compliance to standards can be rewarded with higher selling prices. 

Numerous research projects have cultivated halophytes using water from aquaculture production, the majority of these using various species of Salicornia. Descriptions of these initiatives are highlighted in Torres et al. (2019), Warshay et al. (2016), Webb et al. (2009), and Bush et al. (1999) to mention a few. While these cultivation trials describe the viability of linking halophyte production to aquaculture farming from a technical standpoint, none have expanded into commercialization. Unlike these initiatives, which have taken place in the US and Europe, our sites in Bangladesh and Vietnam are located in regions where independent farms are prevalent. Furthermore urgency as a result of expected effects from sea level rise will prompt authorities in Bangladesh and Vietnam to invest in novel solutions like ours. 

From February 2020 Seawater Solutions has been conducting trials with three farmers in Bangladesh and one in Vietnam, where two of these four trials are using effluent water from shrimp ponds to irrigate crops. Initial crops did not yield enough to commercialize, but samples were given to high-end restaurants where chefs developed a variety of novel dishes using Salicornia. 

The distinct taste of our saline irrigated crops, including the localized nature of production was attractive to chefs who tried our product. The following images are a result of our first crop. Once we are able to stabilize our production, we can supply to a small base of retailers and gradually scale up our model. 

Environmental management systems are broken among some of the world’s largest shrimp producing nations. Although regulations exist, lack of enforcement and low penalties for waste discharge have given shrimp farmers little incentive to invest in costly treatment measures. Opening opportunities for farmers to cultivate valuable halophyte vegetables in combination with waste treatment can provide commercial incentives to adopt more environmentally responsible techniques which would otherwise be a considerable cost to a farm enterprise.
Right now, Seawater Solutions is cultivating halophyte vegetables on water treatment sites owned by partnering farmers who have already have treatment sites. It is rare to find farms which already do this; therefore, we aim to use these sites to demonstrate the commercial opportunities of growing halophytes on treatment sites to neighboring farmers. Produce grown at our demonstration sites will be used to build a small base of customers which serve as a foundation for a new market for halophyte vegetables within the countries we are operating.
The immediate benefit of growing halophytes for shrimp farmers will be the opportunity to diversify income streams and add financial resilience against sudden drops in shrimp prices. Therefore, we aim to support our demonstration farms in growing halophytes themselves end entering our seed-provision buyback scheme. This will give them more incentive to continue treating waste and even expand their treatment area to accommodate more halophyte cultivation. Successful farms often have strong influence on neighboring farmers who are also likely to create waste treatment sites to cultivate halophytes and benefit from this alternative income stream. To support this expansion, Seawater Solutions will provide seeds, technical consultancy, and buyback schemes which will allow continued growth of new markets for halophytes.
Ultimately, we hope our efforts will create incentives to adopt responsible waste treatment methods which will ease regulation for authorities. Improving regulation systems for pollution can reduce environmental impacts from shrimp farming while also improving its reputation among consumers.

At this point, Seawater Solutions has 2 farms operating in Scotland, 3 in Bangladesh, and one in Vietnam, with one farm in Bangladesh and one other in Vietnam located on an aquaculture site. Scotland is the only location operating commercially; however, samples we've tested after our first harvest in Bangladesh and Vietnam have opened up market opportunities for our next crop. 

By the end of this year, we expect to open up sites with two aquaculture farmers in Bangladesh and two in Vietnam where we can buy produce and bring to retail outlets. After 5 years, we expect to operate a total of 20 hectares of land including expansions in Ghana. We expect average plot size in each farm to be 500 meters squared, therefore we expect to serve 40 farms in 5 years. 

Our next year will focus on fine-tuning our cultivation techniques in tropical climates. We are currently optimizing soil preparation and irrigation methods which are slightly different than conventional vegetables. In Vietnam we will open at least two trial sites both in the Northern temperate and Southern tropical climates, allowing us to produce year round. From September we will be harvesting shoots and selling produce to a small number of local restaurants. During this time we are also conducting surveys of local salt marsh ecosystems to look for native halophytes which we can cultivate and develop markets for. 

Within three years we plan to expand production to a total of 2,000 meters squared between 4-6 farms. This will be enough production to supply a small base of retailers and restaurants between 3-5 kilograms of produce each week. If our concept is proven after 3 years, we expect to open up larger scale collaborations with the Vietnamese government and achieve licensing to produce and trade our imported seed varieties. 

Our efforts within the next year will focus on establishing a small base of producers and retailers with whom we can develop our extension service model and logistics. After this is established, we will focus on production of oil seeds for the export market - as demand for fresh vegetables and the domestic retail sector is not as strong in these markets. 

Although we plan to operate in multiple countries in the coming year, there are a number of constraints these locations share. The most significant barrier we face this year is adaptation of our cultivation methods to a hot tropical climate and adaptation to the variety of aquaculture systems that we are finding in these regions. When irrigating crops with saline water in hot climates, soil salinity can increase beyond the tolerance level of halophytes because of high evaporation. Managing evaporation whilst meeting the high water demand of these halophytes is crucial to the crop's success. 

The production cycle for halophytes (2-3 months) is also longer than other conventional crops. This will make managing supply more difficult, as retailers demand consistent weekly supply. 

A significant challenge, once technical constraints are overcome, will be licensing for our imported non-native varieties. The full licensing process for new vegetables in Vietnam, for instance, can take at least 3 years. During this time, it will be important to ensure non-native crops are contained and don't proliferate in the wild. 

Managing a large number of independent suppliers will also be a significant logistical challenge, particularly the trust relationship between the two parties. Providing seeds and equipment on credit to these farmers places a large dependence on their ability to supply. At the same time, Seawater Solutions must carefully manage prices and payment terms with farmers. 

To overcome technical barriers within the next year, Seawater Solutions is conducting trials in collaboration with knowledgeable agri-institutions, including the Plant Resources Center in Vietnam, ICCO in Bangladesh, and the Ramat Negev Desert Agro research Center in Israel. Researchers from these institutes have provided thorough trial designs which will help us identify the best conditions in each location. Techniques from these trials can be shared transferred to Shri Lanka and Ghana which have similar climates. 

We aim to keep the number of farmers we work with relatively small during our first three years of operation to build strong trust relationships and partnership models with them. We will also use this time to learn about appropriate terms which can be applied among a broad range of suppliers. Receiving consultancy from other organizations that have experience in novel crop introduction and extension service management will be essential for us during this time. By gradually increasing our supplier base, we can then time our production to allow consistent supply to retail outlets. 

Licensing can be a lengthy process once we achieve consistent production. To address this, we are collaborating with government research agencies during trials to ensure they are well informed about the progress of the project. We also hope the severity of saline water intrusion in the regions we are working will bring a sense of urgency that can speed up the regulation process. 

Our team currently consists of five full-time staff and five part-time staff. Full time staff are Yanik Nyberg (Founder and CEO), Mario Ray (Project Coordinator), Liam Singleton (Head of Operations), Collins Gameli Hodoli (Project Manager: Ghana), and Nicholas Shell (Project Manager: Vietnam). Our operations in Bangladesh are managed by ICCO cooperation - a Netherlands based NGO. 

Seawater Solutions is one of the few agri-tech startups which is intent on bringing halophytes to parts of the world severely affected by sea level rise. While other organizations have focused on optimizing halophyte production within a specific site, we are committed to adapting our production model to a variety of contexts, and empowering independent farmers to take ownership of their own crops while we act as facilitators. 

All of our full-time team members have experience living and working in development contexts abroad. Yanik (our founder) has grown up in West Africa and Southeast Asia, while Mario (project coordinator) and Liam (head of operations) have lived and worked in southeast Africa and China. Collins (Project Manager: Ghana) was just awarded his PhD in the UK and has Ghanaian descent. Nick (Project manager: Vietnam) has lived and worked in Vietnam for 16 years and has a degree in Marine Biology and Aquaculture. 

In Scotland, Seawater Solutions is partnered with the University of Strathclyde, Univeristy of Glasgow, and the University of Edinbrugh which includes our work in their curriculum and provides research opportunities for their students with us. 

In Bangladesh we have partnered with ICCO cooperation, a Netherlands based NGO which oversees our cultivation trial with independent Bangladeshi farmers. 

In Vietnam we are partnered with the Plant Resources Center, a research arm of the Vietnamese government specializing in surveying and cultivating novel plants. 

We also receive consultancy from the Ramat Negev Research and Development Center, which was a pioneer of the burgeoning Salicornia industry in Israel. 

Seawater Solutions offers aquaculture farmers an opportunity to gain income from land that would otherwise be considered unproductive by producing a highly marketable and nutritious product. 

Farmers that collaborate with us are seen as partners for whom we provide seeds, technical consultancy, and purchase produce under fair equitable terms. With no existing market for halophyte vegetables in the countries we operate, we must establish our own processing, distribution, and marketing in order to establish a customer base for our vegetables. Though the scope of the task may be large, we see it as an opportunity to build a brand for crops that are produced and traded under safe, environmentally friendly and ethical principles.

Our business model consists of three key customer segments:

(1) farmers for whom we loan seeds and irrigation equipment on credit; 
(2) domestic retail and HORECA outlets which purchase our crops fresh,
(3) export markets which purchase our secondary processing varieties, including oils for essential nutrient supplements, cosmetic products, and natural salt substitutes.

Reimbursement for our loans to farmers will be managed according to the sales volume and sales price offered to the farmer; and as instigators of halophyte markets in the regions we operate, we will initially not have to compete with other actors on sales prices offered to farmers and sold to customers.

The objectives of the Solve program's Food Systems Challenge align well with Seawater Solutions, as we are committed to solving a significant problem in global food production using a novel approach. Although our approach is not a 'new technology' in a man made sense, we are testing a novel approach to wastewater treatment centered around a naturally occurring high value vegetable.  

If included as a Solver, we hope to gain additional technical consultancy in growing halophyte vegetables, particularly in the wide variety of environments where we will work. 

We are also introducing new products to markets, therefore could also use support from marketing experts and nutritionists who are familiar with identifying important nutrients in plants and marketing them. 

Ultimately, we hope to broaden the profile of our organization among a wider range of collaborators, particularly for our aquaculture work which is being tested now. 

Our team has a wide range of experience in environmental and technical fields, but lacks experience in business modelling and legal matters. We can use support and advice of experts from seed providers on devising a seed provision-buyback scheme with independent farmers. 

We are already operating in multiple countries, and plan to operate in more. Therefore legal counsel in conducting our business in these countries will be necessary. Particularly relating to business registration, taxes, and finances. 

There are four types of organizations we would like to partner with.

• International development programs

We are looking to collaborate with development agencies such as USAID, DIFID, Agencie Frances de Develompent (AFD), or World Fish who can help us set up a project consortium with other relevant organizations and gain partnerships with public institutions which can scale up our work. 

• Agri-businesses which have experience in seed provision, buyback, and extension programs

We hope to be consulted in designing an extension service framework to manage logistics and relations with partnering farmers. Consultants from  larger organizations such as Monsanto, Syngenta, or Rijk Zwann which have experience in seed provision and extension programs can point out the pitfalls of operating an extension service like we're proposing. We also hope to create a funding consortium with Fresh Studio Innovation Asia - an agriculture consultancy experienced in introducing novel vegetables and extension services to Vietnam. 

• Horticulturalists

We will be cultivating our crops in a large variety of soils and environments given the different regions we are operating in and variety of shrimp farming systems which exist. Therefore, help from experts who have conducted research in horticulture - particularly halophytes - can help us adopt the techniques necessary to cultivate in a wide range of environments and soil types.  

Shrimp production is a multi-billion dollar industry with farms operating in at least 39 countries on hundreds of thousands of hectares of land. Pollution and environmental destruction has severely tarnished the reputation of the product at a time when these issues are becoming increasingly important to consumers. Authorities and certification agencies have failed to encourage more environmentally responsible production in many of the largest shrimp producing nations. Therefore, we are providing incentives for farmers to designate more land towards waste treatment systems to reduce the environmental footprint of their farms. 

Once proven, it will be in the interest of larger scale shrimp traders and processors to use our model to improve their brand image and ultimately the sustainability of their supply. 

Our solution is applicable among any shrimp farms which produce large volumes of pond waste and designates land towards its treatment. We are already operating trial sites in Bangladesh and Vietnam, and are capable of expanding elsewhere in the South and Southeast Asian region.