Hydroponics is a method to cultivate plants without soils. Water provides necessary ingredients like minerals, oxygen, or nutrients to the plant in the absence of soil. This process is very beneficial for the rapid growth of plants and superior quality yields.
Aquaponics is a sustainable method of raising fish and other aquatic animals and vegetables using aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaponics uses animals and plants in a symbiotic relation. Fish Waste from the aquaculture was first broken down by micro-organisms such as nitrifying bacteria into dissolved nutrients like Nitrogen or Phosphorus compounds which plants can use for their growth in hydroponic units. This process improves water quality for fish and decreases overall water consumption by limiting the amount released as effluent.
Aquaponics is a great example of indoor farming. It can be done all over the year at any given place as school, home, local ponds, etc., and it can provide fresh food free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Aquaponics is very beneficial for food security. Aquaponics requires less than 10% of the water normally required for fish farming and plant production to grow 8 times more food per unit than traditional methods. Therefore, it is suitable for small-scale domestic consumption and commercial fresh food production, especially where water scarcity is high.
Benefits of Aquaponics: 1) Fish and plants can grow together using this method easily. If you feed the fish, fish will feed the plants by their wastes, and both will grow together.
2) There will be no use of fertilizer as the fish will provide proper nutrition for plants.
3) Pesticides or other chemical compounds isn't required as it can harm the fish. So it will provide healthier and organic products compared to traditional methods.
4) There is no chance of soil-borne disease to plants as the soil is completely absent in this setup.
5) Plants can be grown in very small places with great harvests.
6) Plants can grow faster with high-quality yields because of the nutrition provides by fish.
7) This method will reduce water consumption and bills because water is used in a closed system and circulated effectively to fish and plants.
On the contrary, Aquaponics has some limitations either.
Limitations- 1) It is often costly to set up and maintain compared to traditional farming. Even a little countertop unit can cost around hundred of dollars.
2) Certain crops, as well as fish, are not available in this method. Tuberous plants and root crops cannot be cultivated using this method as they need soil to survive. Large crops are also difficult to cultivate as they need more nutrients and water. Therefore plants like potatoes, radish, blueberry, carrots, etc., are not cultivated in this method. Also, fishes like Salmon, trout, etc., are not recommended for aquaponics.
3) Aquaponics solves land and water problem, but this method consumes a lot of electricity. The water pump needs to work 24*7, and fish tanks must be kept at a constant temperature. Areas with electricity shortages will face great problems applying aquaponics. But this problem can be solved by using renewable energy sources as solar energy, wind, etc.
4) Aquaponic setup must be installed professionally with experience and knowledge. The construction and maintenance must be done professionally or cause a huge financial burden with less productivity.
Despite the limitations, Aquaponics can solve future food security problems with more technological advancement. In the future, the agricultural sector must need to produce more with less output to feed the entire population. So aquaponics can be a solution addressing the global challenge of food supply in a sustainable way.
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