Future farms
Yes, you can grow big tilapias fresh and clean at your own backyard. You also don’t have to worry about the quality of water it was grown in or whether or not antibiotics were used. After all, you grew your food yourself. You should know
The aquaponics journey of this urban farmer began on an ordinary afternoon back in 2014. I was reviewing for the bar exams then at Pressed Café beside Fullybooked at Powerplant Mall. Tired of reading about law, I took a break and walked around the bookstore. A book caught my attention. The title was “The Good Food Revolution” by Will Allen.
A few pages were devoted to growing fish and crops together in a recirculating system in an urban setting.
Yes, I had to reread that part because I was not sure if I understood it right. Really, can fish and crops grow together in recirculating system? Moreover, there’s no soil required? In an urban setting?
Turns out, the answer was yes.
I read online materials, watched YouTube videos, attended seminars and workshops (the first one was in Pasay, then Laguna, Department of Agriculture, Central Luzon State University, University of the Philippines Los Banos and even that Murray Hallam Course). I then bought and read books about Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, Hydroponics and how both integrate and evolve into what is called Aquaponics.
For those looking for books, the following authors —Bernstein, Brooke, Timmons et al., Lennard, Rakocy, Southern & King, etc. — are worth a look.
This urban farmer also discovered several FB groups devoted to urban farming, soil-less farming and fresh water fish farming. I joined those communities and also built one called: “Metro-Ponics: Aquaponics in Metro Manila.” I also started conducting workshops and seminars under: “Aquaponics Workshop Philippines: Design, Build, Operate.” You may find both on Facebook. Feel free to join.
While all of these were happening, I also designed, built and operated a backyard (hybrid: media beds and deep-water culture) aquaponics system and grew different crops. I harvested: lettuce, kale, pechay, arugula, different varieties of basil, dill, rosemary, tomatoes, grapes, stevia, thyme, mint, cucumbers, etc. The fish also grew big. Last week, I harvested three red
tilapias averaging around 830 grams each. The biggest was 885 grams.
Yes, you can grow big tilapias fresh and clean at your own backyard. You also don’t have to worry about the quality of water it was grown in or whether or not antibiotics were used. After all, you grew your food yourself. You should know.
But where are all these efforts going?
Well, we are an agricultural country that has agricultural productivity (ironically) in decline. To make matters worse, the average age of farmers is around 64 years old. The average lifespan of a Filipino is 69 years old. We are running out of farmers. Also, agricultural land is converted for other purposes, climate change is hitting us hard, and reliance on imports is not a good way to guarantee food security.
We have a problem. And that problem needs a solution.
When this urban farmer built the backyard urban farm, I made sure that it wasn’t too small to the point that experiments would be limited. It had to be big enough for lots of trials and errors happening all at the same time. Hence, my system has around 4,500 liters of water and around 10 square meters of grow space. This was the trial run for bigger plans in the medium and long-term perspective. It’s about the future.
And this is why colleagues and I have assembled a team taht will form the company called: “Future Farms.”
We come from diverse backgrounds: law, organizational administration, finance, engineering, agriculture, aquaculture, business, logistics and distribution (fruits, vegetables, etc.), and even information and communications technologies.
We will design, build and operate the farms of the future. And as cliché as this may sound, let’s end today’s article with: growing soon.