FarmHub
2.1 Introduction
The term ’tipping point’ is currently being used to describe natural systems that are on the brink of significant and potentially catastrophic change (Barnosky et al. 2012). Agricultural food production systems are considered one of the key ecological services that are approaching a tipping point, as climate change increasingly generates new pest and disease risks, extreme weather phenomena and higher global temperatures. Poor land management and soil conservation practices, depletion of soil nutrients and risk of pandemics also threaten world food supplies.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems19.3 Discussion and Conclusions
This chapter has attempted to clarify the regulatory aspects relevant to understanding why aquaponics presently is not eligible for organic certification in the EU and the USA. As in the EU, the main paradigm behind organic farming in the USA is briefly, to manage soils in a natural way. In the EU, organic certification decisions for organic aquaponics are not carried out by local authorities, whereas the USA has seen a growth in this type of action in the last few years as well as an increase in private peer-review certifications and decisions of individual organic certification agencies.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems19.2 Organic Regulations
19.2.1 Organic Rules in Horticulture The hydroponic production technology in the absence of an organic growth media cannot be certified as organic, which has proven to be a long-time effective barrier for the conversion of existing greenhouse vegetable producers to organic farming schemes (König 2004). For horticultural products, the specific EU regulation preventing products produced under ‘classical’ aquaponics systems to obtain an organic certification are the following: 834/2007 Regulation (12): ….
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems19.1 Introduction
Aquaponics is an integrated closed-loop multi-trophic food production system that combines elements of a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and hydroponics (Endut et al. 2011; Goddek et al. 2015; Graber and Junge 2009). Aquaponics is therefore discussed as a sustainable eco-friendly food production system, where nutrient-enriched water from fish tanks is recirculated and used to fertilize vegetable production beds, thus making good use of the valuable nutrients that in conventional aquaculture systems are discarded (Shafahi and Woolston 2014) and presents a potential solution to an environmental problem usually referred to as eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems18.8 Conclusion and Outlook
As discussed in this chapter, economic evaluations of aquaponic systems are still a very complex and difficult task at present. Although aquaponics is sometimes presented as an economically superior method of food production, there is no evidence for such generalised statements. Up to now, there is hardly any reliable data available for a comprehensive economic evaluation of aquaponics. That is partly because there is not “one aquaponics system”, but there exist a variety of different systems operating in different locations under different conditions.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems18.7 Public Acceptance and Market Acceptance
The future of aquaponics production depends on public perception and the associated social acceptance in important stakeholder groups (Pakseresht et al. 2017). In addition to potential aquaponics plant operators, players at the wholesale and retail level as well as gastro-distributors and collective catering are important actors in supply chains. Moreover, consumers are key actors as they bring in the money into the supply chain at its end. Even though they have no direct economic stakes in aquaponics production, the general public as well as political and administrative bodies are important aspects to consider.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems18.6 Aquaculture Side of Commercial Aquaponics in Europe
Starting a business in temperate climate regions of Europe or Northern America requires a larger investment since the systems have to be kept frost-free requiring more electrical energy for plant lighting when operated throughout the year. In Europe, there are two strong horticultural production powerhouses, one in Westland/NL and the other in Almeria, southern Spain. The market concentration is high and contribution margins are slim. As a result, some aquaponic producers presumed that in aquaponics the contribution margin from aquaculture is more interesting than that of horticulture, which is probably why some of the few commercial operators chose to oversize the aquaculture part of the setup.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems18.5 Horticulture Side of Commercial Aquaponics in Europe
Petrea et al. (2016) conducted a comparative cost-effective analysis on different aquaponics setups, utilising five different crops: baby leaf spinach, spinach, basil, mint and tarragon in deepwater culture and light expanded clay aggregate (LECA). Whilst the study was conducted in very small systems without taking into account any upscaling opportunity or potential, several aspects of the presented results are worth discussing. The grow beds have been illuminated in different lighting regimes with fluorescent bulbs and metal halide grow lights.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems18.4 Aquaponic Farms in Europe
Thorarinsdottir (2015) identified ten pilot aquaponic units in Europe, approximately half of which were at the stage of setting up still rather small-scale systems for commercial production. Villarroel et al. (2016) estimated that the number of aquaponic commercial enterprises in Europe comprised approximately 20 companies. Currently, Villarroel (2017) identifies 52 research organisations (universities, vocational schools, research institutes) and 45 commercial enterprises in Europe. Only a handful of these, however, sell aquaponic produce and could be considered as an aquaponic farm.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems18.3 Hypothetical Modelling Data from Europe
In Hawaii, Baker (2010) calculated the break-even price of aquaponics lettuce and Tilapia production based on a hypothetical operation. The study estimates that the break-even price of lettuce is $3.30/kg and tilapia is $11.01/kg. Although his conclusion is that this break-even can potentially be economically viable for Hawaii, such break-even prices are much too high for most European contexts, especially when marketing through retailers and conventional distribution channels. In the Philippines, Bosma (2016) concluded that aquaponics can only be financially sustainable if the producers manage to secure high-end niche markets for fish and large markets for fresh organic vegetables.
· Aquaponics Food Production Systems