IATH Island Aquaponics & Tilapia Hatchery
R & D Priorities
As a global commercial industry, aquaponics barely exists. It has also not yet taken the fancy of the corporate food production fraternity. This is a direct result of the corporate fear that this will cause a widespread increase in local food independence and lack of reliance on centralized processing, packaging and marketing.
The track record for aquaponic ventures is poor. In its recent history, the longstanding aquaponic facilities (existing for longer than five years) are either in educational institutions or rely in principle on continued sale of technology and equipment to prospective aquaponic farms and farmers.
Failed commercial aquaponic ventures are the norm. A survey of the causes of failure reveals the key areas of R&D essential to place aquaponics into the mainstream of food production especially in small scale sustainable family units where it belongs. These we list below