In today’s agricultural climate, better ways and new techniques have been developed to grow and provide healthy food for this generation as well as to meet future needs without harming the environment. Several systems are currently shaping our food production system for this purpose. One such system is Aquaponic farming.
Aquaponics is a food production system that combines aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish and crayfish) and hydroponics (growing plants in water), in which nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically-grown plants where nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.
What is aquaponics farming and how it works?
Aquaponics is a technique that combines hydroponics and aquaculture systems, i.e. growing plants in water instead of soil for vegetable crop cultivation and balancing them together. Plants purify water through the recirculation process by removing fish waste. Fish waste provides nutrients that plants require for growth and development.
The cultivator usually adds extra nutrients to create an ideal growing environment for aquaponic crops.
Under controlled environmental conditions, an aquaponics system develops a symbiotic relationship between freshwater fish and plants in which the fish provide nutrients to the plants and the plants keep the fish healthy by cleaning their water. There is no need to apply pesticides or herbicides to support plant growth because of constant recirculation and exchange of nutrients in the water system between plants and fish.
Benefits of Aquaponic farming in India
1. It yields about six times more per square foot than traditional farming.
2. It requires 90% less water than traditional farming.
3. Allows continuous production of food.
4. Aquaponics provides two streams of income, fish and veggies.
5. It does not need farmland with fertile soil.
6. Plants grow in aquaponics are safe and do not have any kind of chemicals.
7. Integrated system is sustainable and earth-friendly.
8. Efficient, sustainable and highly productive.
Conclusion:
Aquaponics is a game changer that deals with the best growing techniques by using the waste of one element for the beneficial growth of another it also mimics the natural ecosystem. Even though this new advanced system is considered environmentally friendly, it reduces fertilizer application and consumption of water at lower rate, previous studies conveyed that the overall environmental impact and cost of aquaponics were vigorously affected by electricity and fish feed.
