Aquaponics is a type of farming that combines fish farming in tanks (called recirculating aquaculture) with growing plants without soil (hydroponics). In aquaponics, the water from raising fish is full of nutrients, so it naturally fertilizes the plants.
The plants also help clean the water for the fish. Aquaponics can be used all year long in any climate to grow fresh fish and vegetables to feed a village, for a family, or to make money in a commercial farming business.
Aquaponics is an environmentally friendly way to grow both fish and plants. It is popular, and this kind of indoor farming lets you grow much more food with much less water, land, and work than traditional farming, making it very suitable for urban and suburban farming.
Benefits of Aquaponics in city farming
Water Efficiency
One of the best things about aquaponics is how little water it can use. It can use up to 10 times less water than traditional farming. The recirculation system wastes less water and lets other things, like fish food, be used again.
Natural and Sustainable
Aquaponics is a natural method that works just like lakes, ponds, rivers, and other bodies of water on Earth. Fish food for aquaponics is the only thing that goes into an aquaponics system. The fish eat the food and then throw up their waste, which is turned into nutrients that the plants can use by good bacteria.
By using these nutrients, the plants help make the water cleaner. You can’t use herbicides, pesticides, or other dangerous chemicals in an aquaponics system. This means that the fish and plants are healthy and safe to eat.
Economic Benefit
Life is challenging in the city. In these hard economic times, it helps to set up something that saves your money while bringing out the best value for your money. Aquaponics is not only fruitful but also lucrative as an agricultural method. It is a fast-growing business that can be set up in both small and large spaces.
Even though the setup costs can be high, it is a good investment for growers because they can now sell two different crops with the same amount of inputs.
Environmental Benefits
It goes without saying that there is already a great deal of environmental pollution in urban areas; agriculture and farming should not add to the problem. Aquaponics is the most appealing growing system because it is good for the environment. Aquaponics only needs a small amount of water and very little power.
Because the system is closed, there is no waste and no pollution of the water. The amount of crops grown per square foot is also higher than in traditional farming. This is important for growing more food for a larger population.
Flexibility
You cannot be guaranteed to get space in a city. More often than not, people intending to grow food will have to make do with the space available.
The design of an aquaponics system allows for a lot of flexibility, making it possible to adapt it for locations like rooftops, basements, or brownfield land.
Farmers in rural areas that aren’t very well off can even use aquaponics to grow crops all year long in a small space, even though water is often scarce in these places.
Climate Adaptive
The climate in urban and suburban areas is not as stable as that in rural areas due to the level of pollution in the city. Therefore, it becomes difficult for urban farmers to grow climate-specific foods.
Climate-adaptive farming methods are more important than ever because the world’s population is growing, and there is less food security.
Aquaponics is a real climate-adaptive way to grow plants because growers can make changes to save energy. Aquaponics is a closed system operating under controlled conditions, making it simple to use methods that can adjust to climate change, like temperature changes.
Chemical Free
Not just for city farmers and consumers; it is important for human health to consume products with the least chemical content possible. Like other types of hydroponics, aquaponics doesn’t need pesticides.
In fact, any kind of chemical can make the fish sick, which is why growers have to be so careful about the quality of the water. Not only does not using chemicals keep input costs low, but it also has many health and environmental benefits.
Continuous Food Production
Most crops have a season over which they grow best and produce the heaviest harvest. In cities, the weather tends to dwindle because of pollution. With aquaponics systems, you will no longer have to worry about climate change and weather instability.
Aquaponics lets you grow your crops all year round, over all the seasons, because the crops grow in a closed and controlled system. This system lets you adjust conditions to suit the crops’ climatic needs, among other variables.
While your neighbors worry about not being able to grow lentils in winter or get them at the farmers market, you can comfortably grow yours and eat them all year round.