Aquaponics...

A Call Towards Agricultural Revolution

Humans are stewards of nature. Yes, it is irrefutable that we are the only beings whom
the Great Creator entrusts His masterpiece.

As an archipelagic country, our very own Philippines was so blessed with over thousand
hectares of land. These lands serves as a breeding place not only to individuals but also with the
other creatures that they depend upon making soil as a major factor of the continuity of life
here on the Blue Planet.

For countless number of years, citizens of Burgos hinge on tilling the ground. They are
indulged with various agricultural businesses with different practices. And one of the latest
methods used in this municipality is Aquaponics.

Aquaponics is a combination of the aquarium and hydroponic systems. It is a symbiotic

system life cycle of aquatic faunas and floras, and interdependent with each other to produce
fresh agro-products and high quality. The term "aquaponics" is a portmanteau of aquaculture and
hydroponics.

Like the other systems, aquaponics has also its own history about the beginning of its
existence. According to ancient history, the ethnic Aztec are the ones who started to use this
kind of agronomy method. While in Asia alone, South China and Thailand is said to have long
practiced this method in paddy. But here on Burgos, the Gallali izw Farm Products which was
based on Cacayasen, Burgos, Pangasinan was the pioneer in exploitation of this system. Gallali
uses aquaponics since 2010.

Using aquaponics has a distinct process. There must be a tank or ponds for aquatic life
that live in fresh water such as Black Tilapia, Red Tilapia, and Pangasius are very suitable to be
applied to the system as most plants need water to live. Aquaponics conveys water from the
tank's aquatic life that are toxic to animals, through the energy from the windmill, and it will
absorb and get full nutrients derived from aquatic excretion above. By using gravity as a
transport, water is drained from the fish tank ito a gravel bed where rice plants are grown. Here,
beneficial bacteria break down toxic ammonia in fish waste to Nitrate and then to Nitrogen. The
filtered water is pumped from the gravel bed to the growing beds where they grow lemons and
corns. Finally, the water flows from the growing beds back into the tank of fish.

Aquaponics is done to treat and prevent agricultural problems particularly to aquatic

effluents. Aquatic effluents, resulting from uneaten feed or raising animals like fish, accumulate
in water due to the closed-system recirculation of most aquaculture systems. The effluent-rich
water becomes toxic to the aquatic animal in high concentrations but these effluents are nutrients
essential for plant growth.
 Aquaponics is coupled with organically grown animals, vegetables, and herbs, which was
environmentally friendly and increases the profitability of a farmer by economically producing
necessity and producing added-value products from its biodegradable wastes.

This method is very essential to every individual especially the ones who are in
agricultural countries. Its significant values varies from breeding aquatic animals up to growing
plants for food. Aside from the two major functions stated, it also contributes in preservation of
water.

Truly, aquaponics is a novel in our town. Yet, the use of this that tremendously raises the
quality of farmer's life due to the incremental profits of the system practices is quite indisputable.

Indeed, the promotion of using aquaponics in agriculture is a must that is a resounding

call towards an agricultural revolution.