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Bard’s Village Aquaponics Association Points To Aquaponics As The Way Forward To Food Security

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Submitted by Ready Done
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Imagine your plate without rice, macaroni or English potato. How long could you survive in a crisis situation? We import 93% of the staples we consume daily. Luckily there is about two months foreign reserves to buy food, good news for the supermarket owners. When there is a hurricane threat we all know how fast those reserves will dwindle.

Unless you can produce your own food you will get uncomfortable really fast.

Sixty years ago we were a food secure nation, the culture allowed for this because time and land were available therefore the average person could grow their own food. Currently full time employment and urbanization has made conventional backyard farming uneconomical, on a larger scale it is possible to profit from farming but the uncertainty of a market to sell produce, the high cost of labour and agro-chemicals, combined with the lack of any technological advances make local farming for profit difficult.

Aquaponics is the latest technology applied to farming, it meets the needs of Barbadian society and it can be done on any scale. It is the vision of Bard’s Village Aquaponics Association (BVAA) to make aquaponics the farmers technology of choice in four years. We intend to achieve this by supplying the products and knowledge required directly to the Barbadian public starting with our book entitled Residential Farming for Profit, the book will contain all the information required to design, build and maintain aquaponic systems.

We will also supply ‘turnkey’ aquaponic starter systems capable of producing up to 117kg of food per year with a value of $3104.60 a yearly operating cost of around $750 at the price of $2698.73 per system, eligible for a government rebate of 40% or $1079.

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25 responses to “Bard’s Village Aquaponics Association Points To Aquaponics As The Way Forward To Food Security”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    @Ready Done

    Good luck attracting discussion on this one. You maybe ahead of your time.

  2. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Bravo Ready Done.

    Please keep us informed as the project develops

  3. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @Ready Done
    “Currently full time employment and urbanization has made conventional backyard farming uneconomical…”

    Is this correct? Uneconomical? How would you measure that? OK let’s discuss it.

    You work and get paid to pay bills and in the meantime become unhealthy by eating unhealthy foods you purchasing from the supermarkets. so you end up at the doctor and you know the possibilities.

    As opposed to growing your food which will give you the exercise and allow you to eat healthy, avoiding the doctor and tend towards longevity; Food Security.

    Who has the best advantage?

    You thing that Bajans lazy? You see all those people that going to the gym on mornings before they go to work because they recognise that if they don’t they will end up sick? I think they would be better off working out by cultivating a garden.

    The only problem with full time employment is finding the time to look after a garden. I am not sure that it is even a question of economics but it surely is long term economics to secure your food.

    This is more a question of quality of life and many people pay through their noses for it; including looking for miracle foods and cures. I think it is more economical to do it the right way. As your said bible would tell you, what gaineth a man who would seek to own the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul”. First lesson in economics. Money may seek to, but cannot replace the good things of this world.

    Second thing, what chemicals are you putting in that water to grow food? $2700 for a system and $750 to maintain for a value of $3104? Wow! How many crops before I make back my investment and get income? and that represents how much time?

    I am taking into consideration the following:
    1. The crop will take some time to grow;
    2. The crop will take some time to reap;
    3. There will be an interval between reaping the last of the crop and sowing the next;
    4. Then the second crop will take time to grow and reap as well;
    5. Each crop will also have costs for reaping, storing and sales.

    Finally, can I grow sweet potatoes or cassava?

  4. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @David

    “Good luck attracting discussion on this one. You maybe ahead of your time.”

    This is a very important topic. Ready Done is trying his best and for that he should be commended. However, I would want to ensure that in his effort he is not misguided by illusory factors.

    I am all for food security, but I am very wary of western science and technology. You see it sets you up to become dependent and the danger is that once you are dependent, there is no security.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    @ROK

    Our read of what RD who shows himself to be a creative mind is how can WE use a technology in agriculture to grow food which is not land intensive. Your reference to Barbadians exercising in gyms may not be recognizing that we are seeing a lifestyle revolution, not sure if the same middleclass individual would transfer that behaviour to the backgarden.

  6. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Human beings are interesting creatures.

    There are Bajans in Canada who grow Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in buckets on apartment balconies.

    There are Bajans living in townhouses who grow vegetales and seasoning thyme marjoram in gardens the size of a queen size bed.

    In Barbados I have seen people living in chattel houses grow vegetables in their backyard.

    I Hants, a lazy sog, who prefers to be fishing, has grown large pumpkins by pelting the insides in the backyard and only to find a dozen pumpkins a couple months later in the tall grass that I had avoided cutting.

    Hydroponics great. Green houses great.
    Growing your own food on your own little house spot Greater.

  7. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @David
    “Your reference to Barbadians exercising in gyms may not be recognizing that we are seeing a lifestyle revolution…”

    Of course it is recognising the “revolution” as you put it but going further and saying that the revolution should be in putting the effort into food security. That is the real revolution. It is either you plant food and live or die going to the gym.

    So what you calling a revolution is not a revolution at all, but bare folly and the source of our food insecurity. The opportunity cost of using your energy at the gym is food security. Which is most economical?

  8. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @David

    As I said, I am with RD, except that I would hate to know that his effort still leaves us dependent.

    Hants made some very important points. I have seen bajans overseas doing some things they would never do here.

    I understand that in England there is something called an allotment. I have a Bajan Limey friend who tells me about trips to the allotment on certain days. Apparently they grow food as one of the activities on the allotment. It seems to be a community thing.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    @ROK

    Hopefully RD will respond to your concern. It was interesting to hear Sir Lloyd in the news today indicating that Barbados needs to become self sufficient in food production and clothing. Also interesting today to hear an announcement in the media that two bags of onions stolen from a farm today were sprayed. Wonder how much foodstuff is eaten by general public which was sprayed.

  10. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Yes, food security is paramount. We also need some border protection as a measure for food security. We allow too many people in here without knowing who they are. That is what you get for being a tourists destination. Remember to death of the pawpaw?

    Not sure if to believe that somebody would spray onions and reap them and put them in bags with the spray on them. Maybe I don’t know sufficient about onions or is it that they estimated the quantity of two bags taken?

    There is an obvious difference. If I hear that somebody stole two bags of onions which were sprayed that may not stop me from being cautious when buying onions… but if I heard that the quantity reaped was about two bags, then I will be cautious.

  11. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Allotments were/are a boon to many UK residents.
    Borne out of the WW2 food shortage, they provided the land needed for the masses to augment their scanty rationed necessities.

    Hats off to RD and his Bairds Village initiative, but how easy would it be to open the Glendairy lands for all bajans to till the soil and reap their rewards.

    A day’s GoB ploughing along with 24/7 security would provide 100’s of struggling Bajans, with no access to land, the incentive and opportunity to break away from expensive imported produce.

    Wha’ these community councils proposed of real benefit to their communties, these last 12 moths?

  12. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @Anonymous
    “Borne out of the WW2 food shortage, they provided the land needed for the masses to augment their scanty rationed necessities.”

    Thanks for this explanation. The person could never tell me anything about what an allotment is. This too is about food security.

  13. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    I have a large backyard with a garden. Yet, I rent an allotment where I grow things that take up lots of space, like squash and the brassica family.

  14. Ready Done Avatar
    Ready Done

    Aquaponics is so efficient because of a much higher bacteria density than in soil, the waste of all animals contain the chemical ammonia this is converted by bacteria to a form that plants use, the air borne bacteria land on the waste and begin multiplying until all the waste is converted but the population dies when the source of ammonia runs out. Aquaponic conditions allow the bacteria population to be maintained at a constantly high density, therefore as soon as the waste is made it is quickly converted to plant food, bacteria that attach onto the plants roots are also maintained at high levels these help the plant uptake nutrients much more efficiently. This makes plants more productive than when in soil.

    Thank you for all the responses so far, I have answered the questions below to be best of my ability.
    • I don’t think that Bajans are lazy I think they are kept way too busy to recognize how fragile our food chain really is, that is why I pointed out the fact that the main things we consume are not produced by us.
    • Conventional backyard food production is uneconomical because it is currently cheaper to work and buy food than to work /produce your own food.
    • It is my opinion that a high “quality of life” does not belong to the very rich and should be affordable to everyone.
    • Root crops don’t grow as well in aquaponics because the root zone is constantly wet. It is best to get these from the plantation that can grow a lot, cheaply. However grains and legumes can be grown in this system with ease. Nontraditional crops grown to date: soy bean, rice, wheat, quinoa.
    • The numbers given are on a small backyard system, no bigger than a parking space. The crops are planted/ consumed on-demand providing the freshest food possible, from plant to mouth, not the conventional mono-cropped, picked green and stored till used. The edible tilapia fish can be harvested twice a year.
    • Aquaponics is dependent on electricity, fish food and plastics, all can be made in Barbados.
    • The technological expect of aquaponics gives appeal to the Barbadian public.
    • Aquaponics is naturally organic because chemical used on plants are harmful to fish and vice versa.

  15. Bajeabroad Avatar
    Bajeabroad

    @ Ready Done

    You are absolutely on the right track and I hope your efforts attract $$$ from a large investor.

    You should perhaps focus your efforts on cultivating high quality vegetables to the hotel sector and even approach the hotels in general with a sectoral plan for producing high quality vegetables. I would also look at developing a packaged system that can be sold or installed by customers in other islands with you/your company providing the expertise at a price and being the suppliers of nutrients and/or essential items used in the installation and running of the overseas installations.

    Another way you can approach this is to offer the package systems as an example of Green Living in Barbados. Many tourist would be thrilled to know that their food is grown in an environmentally conscious manner. Makes them feel less guilty also. The benefit of installing package systems at larger hotels with the market guarantee, is that it also enhances the hotel’s image, can be used in their advertising, and/or even be “toured” by their guests.

    All in all you are onto a good thing, but you now have to be just a clever and creative with the marketing of the application of aquaponice, because as David say’s this technology and your ideas are ahead of the lazy thinking of alot of the Barbados establishment, so do not expect them to immediately “get it” You have to lead from the front with your marketing!!

    Best of luck….this is exactly the creativity Barbados needs!!

  16. Bajeabroad Avatar
    Bajeabroad

    Another point…..you should approach a large hotel chain like Sandals or Almond Properties with the idea of installing systems on their properties for the reasons mentioned above….forget the local households for now….too novel for most….go after big customers

  17. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @Bajeabroad
    “you should approach a large hotel chain like Sandals or Almond Properties with the idea of installing systems on their properties for the reasons mentioned above….forget the local households for now….too novel for most….go after big customers.”

    Wow!

  18. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @RD
    “• Aquaponics is naturally organic because chemical used on plants are harmful to fish and vice versa.”

    OK, I get the drift. You circulating the water? If you can make the fish food from plant material or something easily obtained, that would be very economical.

    I see the problem so no need to respond. Respecting that.

  19. Ready Done Avatar
    Ready Done

    @ baje abroad I see what you mean about. Too novel for the average house hold. To get the pubic online with this thing I plan to get one in every school before the year done, some how. Thanks for the advice about approaching the big. Folks that is the next step I we are in the process of setting up a commercially size system as prof of concept then we market to “big hotels”

  20. Ready Done Avatar
    Ready Done

    Sorry about the above typos it is difficult navigating this site from a blackberry.

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