Why Aquaponics is vitally important to you right now!
A new food crisis is emerging... From fertiliser to tractor-fuelling diesel, the inputs that power the world’s agriculture industry are in short supply.
A new food crisis is emerging...
From fertiliser to tractor-fuelling diesel, the inputs that power the world’s agriculture industry are in short supply.
Why it matters: these shortages make it hard for farmers to feed the world and are causing upward pressure on global food prices. Food prices in the USA are surging at their fastest pace ever: a record 13% jump last month. Food prices in Australia are starting to rise.
The pandemic gave us shortages and has contributed to inflation. Now Russia’s war on Ukraine — plus Covid lockdowns in China’s farming provinces — are making a bad situation worse. China is buying up Corn, Wheat and Soybean at record rates for fear of famine which has plagued China throughout its long history. (Bloomberg March 2022)
Wheat and corn prices soared more than 19% last month as war + sanctions crush supply from the key Black Sea “breadbasket” region. Food staples are running low as Russia bombs Ukrainian wheat fields and critical shipping ports remain closed.
Deliveries from Ukraine and Russia, which account for about a quarter of the world’s grains trade, are becoming complicated, spurring food-security worries. Ukraine is also the #1 exporter of sunflower oil in Europe. (Bloomberg April 2022)
The two countries are key players in certain major global industries, like computer chips, sunflower oil, grains, petroleum, and wood. Together, they account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports. Ukraine produces somewhere around 70-90% of the world’s neon gas, which is a vital component of the microchips used to manufacture smartphones and computer screens. Russia is responsible for 13% of the world’s crude petroleum exports, which means anything that requires transportation at any stage of production—almost everything—will be impacted. Penfield predicts inflation may hit 11% by the end of the year. (Time magazine March 2022)
We are already seeing basic food items increasing in price right here at home in Australia and the various factors mentioned above will continue to put upward pressure on farming and supply chain systems.
The highest source of fertilizer for traditional farming is chemically manufactured ammonia (ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH₃ and approximately 80% of ammonia synthesized today is eventually converted into urea fertilizer). Whether it is chemically manufactured or generated from natural cow manure, chicken manure, pig manure, or other manure sources, all of these streams are the ammonia that provides nutrients for growing our food supply.
Why Aquaponics?
The unique differentiator for Practical Aquaponics is the source of our ammonia – Edible Fresh Water Fish. Through their gills and through their waste, fish naturally generate ammonia in an on-site, hyper-local, and completely closed-loop, virtuous circular ecosystem called Aquaponics. The fish generated ammonia is converted to plant ready fertiliser through the Nitrification Process. This process then returns the water to the fish clean ready to be recycled over again.
It is time to grow as much as you can to secure a reliable food source for your family.
You can do Aquaponics on any scale, from a small backyard system to a large farm. I have trained hundreds of people all around the world in the fine and successful art of Aquaponics.
Come and learn how at my Aquaponics Master Class. Or my online Aquaponics Design Course
See here for further info.
Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash