Aquaponics farming has been gaining popularity in many areas for several years now and one university in Georgia has established their own aquaponics research facility in order to study the sustainability of this farming method.
Thanks to a $100,000 donation from the Forum Group Charitable Foundation, the school got the necessary funds in order to launch more research into aquaponics and set up their own facility in order to help them to do this.
They want to know if this sort of farming method is convenient and efficient enough for commercial scale farming.
Students are working along with faculty at the Armstrong State University in order to investigate this specific farming method, which centers around using fish waste and water in order to fertilize and grow the produce. It involves combing the practice of hydroponics with aquaculture.
When it comes to the aquaponics research facility in Georgia, their aquaponics facility is a 4,100 square foot greenhouse and the project cost them about $150,000 to get up and running. The project is a joint venture between both the University and the Foram Foundation.
Aside from the research, the facility has now started producing fish and vegetables that are being sold to the faculty and staff.
They are hoping that this sort of farming method will help to bring fresh and affordable produce options to rural communities and urban food deserts etc.
There are now a number of different aquaponics kits being sold on Amazon that cost anywhere from $15 to $100 or more, depending on how big of a system you want and quality. But it is fairly easy now for people to find something affordable that they can start at home, even if that's just growing a few green onions or some herbs.
Aquaponics has proved to be successful as a farming method for a number of different crops: kale, basil, mint, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and more.
Pics:
Pixabay
IPlantToSurvive - via iplantosurvive.info/aquaponics6.gif
Sources:
http://www.wtoc.com/story/35510692/wtoc-good-news-armstrong-state-university-studies-sustainability-through-aquaponics
https://www.armstrong.edu/science-technology/sarc
http://seedstock.com/2016/02/08/university-researches-economic-sustainability-of-large-scale-aquaponics/
http://fox28media.com/news/local/armstrong-state-research-students-investigate-affordability-of-aquaponics
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2015-10-08/armstrong-aquaponics-program-receives-100000-grant
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2014-11-21/savannah-mans-aquaponic-hobby-partnership-armstrong-state-university
https://aquaponics.com/recommended-plants-and-fish-in-aquaponics/
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