Aquaponics: The Next Generation Farming System

Considerable pressure has been placed on agricultural resources due to the major risks associated with long-term food security such as climate change, extreme weather events, rapid population increase, and the shortages of fresh water and cropland. The next generation farmers are facing unprecedented challenges in sustaining crop production to meet global demands. Aquaponics is a smart farming that integrates aquaculture with hydroponics to grow various crops using fish wastewater in a recirculating system. Aquaponics recycles more than 98% of water from aquaculture effluents for crop production, dramatically reducing discharge of its wastewaters into the environment, with greater potential for profitability by simultaneously producing two cash crops, fish and plant crops. Fish feed determines mineral nutrients available for plant production as it provides most of the nutrients required for plant growth. Although many different types of crops have been tested and grown in aquaponics, the crop choice largely depends on the experience and personal preference of the farmer. There is a lack of scientific information on the type of crops best fitted in the aquaponics system which effectively remove nutrients from wastewater and convert into higher yield. Therefore, a holistic approach to effectively manage aquaponics system is critical to produce higher crop yields and quality while more effectively conserving water and nutrient resources from the wastewater. In this presentation, the opportunities and challenges of aquaponics system will be discussed, and the strategies for the effective management will be highlighted for better performance of aquaponics system.