Aquaponics for the Anthropocene: Towards a ‘Sustainability First’ Agenda

Abstract

The Anthropocene' has emerged as a unique moment in earth history where humanity recognises its devastating capacity to destabilise the planetary processes upon which it depends. Modern agriculture plays a central role in this problematic. Food production innovations are needed that exceed traditional paradigms of the Green Revolution whilst at the same time are able to acknowledge the complexity arising from the sustainability and food security issues that mark our times. Aquaponics is one technological innovation that promises to contribute much towards these imperatives. But this emergent field is in an early stage that is characterised by limited resources, market uncertainty, institutional resistance and high risks of failure-a developmental environment where hype prevails over demonstrated outcomes. Given this situation, the aquaponics research community potentially holds an important place in the development path of this technology. But the field needs to craft a coherent and viable vision for this technology that can move beyond misplaced techno-optimist accounts. Turning to sustainability science and STS research, we discuss the urgent need to develop what we call a 'critical sustainability knowledge' for aquaponics, giving pointers for possible ways forward, which include (1) expanding aquaponic research into an interdisciplinary research domain, (2) opening research up to participatory approaches in real-world contexts and (3) pursuing a solution-oriented approach for sustainability and food security outcomes.

Sustainable Urban Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of a Coupled Single-Loop Aquaponics System in Nigeria

“…For access to market, small-scale aquaponics sell their produce through direct sales, including selling at their facility, farmer markets and roadside stands (Love et al, 2015). Since smaller production facilities are confronted with fewer regulations, direct sales may be the simplest selling strategy in dealing with the political and legal barriers (Gott et al, 2019;Specht et al 2019;Milliken & Stander, 2019). The sampled urban aquaculturists do not access credit due to high interest rates and stated that they had difficulties obtaining credits.…”

“…Energy is the second most expensive operational category in aquaponics, with the possibility of cost reduction through renewable energy and energy efficiency appliances (Tokunaga et al, 2015). The use of aquaponics for sustainable urban farming depends on the interconnectedness of various fields of expertise (Tokunaga et al, 2015;Gott et al, 2019;Junge et al, 2017). According to Dos Santos (2016), the cooperation between researchers, businesses, farmers, private sector, and decision-makers will make urban environments favorable to the establishment of aquaponics.…”

El impacto positivo de los Sistemas Integrados Agro-acuícolas en el Objetivo para el Desarrollo Sostenible 6- Agua limpia y Saneamiento

“…Asimismo, los actos de los hombres en el periodo del Antropoceno desestabilizaron 3 de los 9 límites planetarios 1 ; actividades como la industrialización, agricultura y extracción de combustibles fósiles, por mencionar algunas [2]. Para garantizar la permanencia de las futuras generaciones es menester corregir el empleo de los recursos naturales [3]. Por lo anterior dicho, se han establecido estrate-1 Cambio climático, integridad de la biósfera, cambio del uso del suelo, flujos bioquímicos, reducción del ozono estratosférico, uso del agua dulce, acidificación del océano, carga de aerosoles atmosféricos, incorporación de nuevas entidades.…”

Bioactive Compounds of Endemic Medicinal Plants (Cuphea spp.) Cultured in Aquaponic Systems: A Short Study

“…According to [2,3] vegetables produced in aquaponic systems show greater fruiting than those grown in hydroponics systems. In this way, aquaponics directly and positively impacts some goals of the 2030 agenda, such as zero hunger, good health and well-being, and climate action, because it increases productivity and protein diversification, and decreases waste of nutrients and water [4]. Moreover, aquaponic systems are an alternative for sustainable and organic production because they impact the environment to a lesser extent compared to aquaculture and traditional hydroponics [5].…”