The main characteristic of previous activities in research and development cooperation in the field of tropical aquaculture was the evaluation and dissemination of preformulated technology packages, without specific knowledge of specific conditions and without involvement of the target group. A new, mainly participatory approach is presented, exemplified with an application in Ghana. Smallholder farmers were involved in all procedural steps, thereby incorporating their knowledge, creativity and consent into the development of location-adapted technologies for integrated aquaculture. Five main participatory steps signify the approach: 1) village-level resource appraisal, 2) basic knowledge exchange, 3) appraisal of individual households, 4) technology adaption, and 5) farm-monitor-ing. Preliminary results reveal that integrated agriculture-aquaculture, as it is developed and implemented in the approach shown here, can have positive economic, ecological and nutritional effects on smallholder farm households.