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Hello,
I'm Nagabushan, currently writing my PhD thesis at the university of Namur, Belgium. I come from a low income agricultural family from agraharam, 25 kms from Hosur, TN, India. I had been looking for ways to improve the farming that is sustainable and profitable for my villaging community that grows vegetables and open cut roses throughout the year. However, in recent past, the scarcity of water, poor soil quality, high dependency on imported fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, high labour cost and such unsustainable agricultural practices have lead to farmers stress and rural displacement.
In order to revert this scenario, a relatively new farming method known as aquaponics, widely popular in the West has shown sustainable and profitable returns to the farmers. It involves both urban farming and rural farming. It utilizes technology driven automation process that is self sustainable and evolutionary. In order to reach the masses, it must be demonstrated with the pilot plant for them to believe and also this centre can be used for training and assistance to farmers.
Aquaponics is a hybrid system of hydroponics ( cultivation of plants without soil) and aquaculture ( raising of aquatic animals ) such as fish. This system utilizes about 90 % less water compared to traditional practices as water is recycled. Another advantage of this system is that plants purify water for Fish and in turn Fish provides the nitrogen sources that are required for plant growth. Moreover, since most of the system is automated, it requires less labour to maintain but generates employment in post-processing in rural areas. This system is well tested in Europe and USA and has been shown to increase yields dramatically with export quality. The income could be doubled from the plant produce and Fish. However, the major disadvantage of this system is that it requires high capital investment for the first time to develop commercial scales. For the report on aquaponics and sustainability by the guardian, reputed international media organization please visit.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1463143907051976&id=100000691430231.I'm Nagabushan, currently writing my PhD thesis at the university of Namur, Belgium. I come from a low income agricultural family from agraharam, 25 kms from Hosur, TN, India. I had been looking for ways to improve the farming that is sustainable and profitable for my villaging community that grows vegetables and open cut roses throughout the year. However, in recent past, the scarcity of water, poor soil quality, high dependency on imported fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, high labour cost and such unsustainable agricultural practices have lead to farmers stress and rural displacement.
In order to revert this scenario, a relatively new farming method known as aquaponics, widely popular in the West has shown sustainable and profitable returns to the farmers. It involves both urban farming and rural farming. It utilizes technology driven automation process that is self sustainable and evolutionary. In order to reach the masses, it must be demonstrated with the pilot plant for them to believe and also this centre can be used for training and assistance to farmers.
Aquaponics is a hybrid system of hydroponics ( cultivation of plants without soil) and aquaculture ( raising of aquatic animals ) such as fish. This system utilizes about 90 % less water compared to traditional practices as water is recycled. Another advantage of this system is that plants purify water for Fish and in turn Fish provides the nitrogen sources that are required for plant growth. Moreover, since most of the system is automated, it requires less labour to maintain but generates employment in post-processing in rural areas. This system is well tested in Europe and USA and has been shown to increase yields dramatically with export quality. The income could be doubled from the plant produce and Fish. However, the major disadvantage of this system is that it requires high capital investment for the first time to develop commercial scales. For the report on aquaponics and sustainability by the guardian, reputed international media organization please visit.
I'm raising funds to develop a commercial scale aquaponics farm with laboratory for testing and training farmers (NGO) in and around Hosur, so that they can live stress free and have a sustainable development in the future. I hope you guys will join me to help this make success. Any contributions size is welcome. I would keep you updated every now and then about the fund raising and the progress. This will not only uplift the farmers from the nearby area but will encourage technocrats, young entrepreneurs to also participate. More importantly, my vision is to see food on the table free from insecticides and pesticides and have a healthy life style that is beneficial to all and lead the fight against poverty and climate change. This project will also be aimed at developing indigenous technologies for futuristic farming.
The average returns from this system is about three years.
Thanks for the support and please share it with everyone possible to build this sustainability project.
