Aquaponics: A Promising Tool for Environmentally Friendly Farming
Roberta Calone, Francesco Orsini
Abstract
Nowadays, agriculture must face a new challenge: produce more food with fewer natural resources. To achieve this goal, scientists are testing a technique called aquaponics. Aquaponics was introduced many years ago by ancient Chinese and Mexican populations. In aquaponics, fish and plants are farmed together. How is this possible? Bacteria change the fish poop into nutrients useful for the plants. The plants take up these nutrients and clean the water, which can then be reused to farm the fish, and the cycle restarts! Aquaponics allows farmers to obtain two products at once, and to recycle the same water many times. Almost no wastewater is released into the environment! Aquaponics systems can have different sizes and do not need soil. They can be installed in both outdoor and indoor environments. Big aquaponic systems are used for commercial purposes, while small aquaponic systems can be used for urban farming—growing food within cities.