Fish, veggies make for good produce

Laura Redpath, Senior Gleaner Writer

Farmers are being encouraged to take up methods utilising the use of long-term relationships between fish and vegetables as sustainable agricultural practices.

Clarendon's Rural Agricultural Development Authority's (RADA) extension officer, Orlando Rowe, was on hand to demonstrate such a method to patrons inside the Clarendon parish showcase at the 58th annual Denbigh Agri-Industrial Show.

Aquaponics is the cultivation of crops and other plants while relying on the symbiotic relationship between aquatic creatures, such as fish and plants. Fish waste happens to be nutritious to plants.

The water is pumped from the fish pond into a container, which is part of the overall sump tank. The sump tank, which is built by recycled material, facilitates the regular flow of water into the portable vegetable plot, which floats over the pond.

Easy to maintain

"Anybody can get involved. Just know how the cycle works," Rowe said. "And it's easy."

According to the extension officer, backyard farmers or larger-scale farmers might take on this project, as it is inexpensive and easy to maintain. He noted that purchasing the pump would be the most costly part of the project.

Considering the aquaponics unit is fairly new technology in Clarendon, the concept, developed in China by Dr Song Xiangfu in 1990, has yet to gain popularity among local farmers.

However, Denbigh patrons were expressing interest in learning how the system works.

"They come in and ask questions. Then they end up liking the technology," Rowe said.

The RADA official recommends using tilapia fish, as this breed is able to sustain the trauma of inconsistent water levels and low oxygen.