Is aquaponics going to be the new frontier for food production, or is it just a fad that will settle into a niche?
“I feel this is a budding industry,” says Mark Warrell, production manager at Nevada’s Dayton Valley Aquaponics. “Market feasibility studies show very strong growth in the aquaponics sector. The commercial sector in aquaponics is a feasible business model and shows promise to feed the future.”
Warrell’s colleague, business manager Trevor Birba says loss of fertile land because of climate change and the growing popularity of land-based aquaculture are “creating tailwinds” for this growing sector.
Rebecca Nelson, co-founder of Nelson and Pade, one of the largest aquaponics supply and training companies in North America, says she sees an increase every year not just in the number of farms, but in the size of those farms. And people from all walks of life are jumping in.