Analysis of aquaponics as an emerging technological innovation system

Abstract

Aquaponics is an approach of coupling two technologies: recirculation aquaculture (fish-farms) and hydroponics (soil-less cultivation of crops). While it is perceived as a way to contribute to more sustainable food systems, the technology is still in its infancy, with several challenges. This paper describes current conditions of development and identifies aspects that can promote or hinder future pathways. We focus our analysis on the EU, using Germany as an institutional case study, while also considering worldwide developments. We propose a framework to analyze aquaponics as an emerging technological innovation system at the interface between existing fish and plant production systems. The approach is explorative based on a literature review and interviews with experts. The main findings are that stakeholders have different views regarding the future development pathways, knowledge to manage complex systems in the long term is needed and it is still unclear how to design institutional conditions to deliver sustainable outcomes.

Challenges of Commercial Aquaponics in Europe: Beyond the Hype

“…The current literature on commercialisation of aquaponics identifies several areas of challenges for aquaponics on a commercial scale: technical, socio-ecological, and economic [22,23,25,26]. Regarding technological challenges, the main issues faced by entrepreneurs are system complexity, caused by joining two very different food production technologies, the need for further research to optimise production conditions, and the lack of large-scale units to demonstrate the potential, subsequently resulting in the challenge to convince investors and other potential sources of finance.…”

“…Regarding technological challenges, the main issues faced by entrepreneurs are system complexity, caused by joining two very different food production technologies, the need for further research to optimise production conditions, and the lack of large-scale units to demonstrate the potential, subsequently resulting in the challenge to convince investors and other potential sources of finance. Once the "trial and error" phase in the production has been negotiated, the most important challenge for commercial aquaponics producers seems to be their size, since most are very small and cannot be expected to compete with large scale competition [22,23,[25][26][27][28][29].…”

Transforming Research and Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems—A Coupled-Systems Perspective

“…Socio-ecological perspectives that can be used to understand the complexity of systemic dynamics are also considered an important approach in transformation research [42] and focus on a range of empirical topics, from grasping the dynamics of dietary behaviours (e.g., [48]) to managing small-scale fisheries (e.g., [49]). Other qualitative analytical approaches that aim to understand the (technological) dynamics of food systems include technological innovation systems research (e.g., [50][51][52]), social practice approaches (e.g., [32,53,54]), and research focusing on the multitude of values involved in food systems transformation (e.g., [55,56]).…”

Aquaponia em Educação Ambiental – Perceções de alunos e de professores

“…Atividades que que associam a criação de plantas e de peixes, e que possam, por isso, estar na origem da aquaponia, remontam pelo menos ao século XII quer na China (BOCEK, 2009), que na América Central e do Sul (CROSSLEY, 2003). Atualmente, a aquaponia é uma atividade com base científica encarada por vários autores como uma atividade industrialmente rentável (RAKOCY et al 1997;BUZBY, 2014SU et al, 2015PETREA et al, 2016;SUHL et al, 2016KÖNIG et al, 2018.…”