Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. Lutfu Savas made examinations in the greenhouse established with the hydroponic system implemented within the framework of the grant program between the European Commission and the municipality.
Plant production will be carried out with the integration of soilless agriculture and aquatic cultivation system within the scope of the SIEU Green project carried out by the Metropolitan Park Garden and Green Fields Department.
In the aquaponic technique, fish waste is used as a biological fertilizer source for plants and is obtained by the plant roots providing natural filters for the fish pond.
With this project, Hatay Metropolitan Municipality aims to show how technological and social innovations in urban agriculture can positively affect society and the economy. Hatay Metropolitan Municipality aims to be a first in Turkey by providing innovative agricultural techniques to the public, entrepreneurs, and students with a lively laboratory environment with the "Continuous Education Center" model.
With the project, it is also planned to organize workshops to teach this new agricultural technique to a group of approximately 400 people consisting of disadvantaged women and Syrian guest women and to demonstrate the applicability of this production method in their own balcony or kitchen in order to strengthen and spread the concept of social innovation in Hatay.
President Savas examined the greenhouse with new production techniques on-site and received information from HBB Park Garden and Green Areas Department Head Murat Bayram.
Stating that the project was carried out right next to the Turunclu Treatment Plant, Savas said, “We established a very good system. In this system, we are working on vegetables that we will grow with only water and fish manure, completely free of soil, ”.
Noting that the laboratories were established, Savas explained the technique of the system as follows; “We left freshwater fish in our six large tanks within the aquaponic system. The wastes from these freshwater fish come to the collection tanks through the bottom water. We have three medium-sized pools in our recovery tanks. This pool is completely ventilated and filtered. Our ventilated and filtered water is brought by a piping system in hydroponic tanks together with the fertilizers from the fish inside. The incoming fertilized water travels through this whole system. Water is returned to the aquaponic tanks after they are circulated.
The world is now suffering from water problems. At the same time, the soil is very tired due to the too many unnecessary fertilizers and pesticides used until today. A tremendous amount of chemical and toxic substances are accumulated in the soil. Agricultural production, which we will grow with only water and fish, away from the substances formed in this soil, and also away from fungal, bacterial, and viral infections in the soil, will perhaps lead the agriculture of Hatay."
President Savas emphasized that the new system is an important step that will take the agriculture in Hatay to a very advanced stage and added: “If you grow lettuce in the field in an average of 50 days, we can grow that lettuce in our facility in 10 to 15 days. It is a tremendously useful system in terms of health, time, and economy. We will also explain this method to our farmers."
Source: Iskenderun Haber