Lok Sabha Question No. 5997 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-11
Subject: Promotion of Aquaponic Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: PREM DAS RAI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND  FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, DAIRYING AND  FISHERIES

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5997

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 th  APRIL, 2017

## PROMOTION OF AQUAPONIC AGRICULTURE

## 5997. SHRI PREM DAS RAI:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND  FARMERS WELFARE कृ षि और ककसान कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is promoting aquaponic agriculture in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of aquaponic produce grown in the country; and
- (d) the details of research being conducted by the Government to scale up the method?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND  FARMERS WELFARE:

(SHRI SUDARSHAN BHAGAT)

- (a) Yes,  Madam. The  Marine  Products  Export  Development  Authority  (MPEDA)  under  the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India is giving training to the potential small scale entrepreneurs for the Aquaponic system.
- (b) Nearly  6000  entrepreneurs  were  trained  for  setting  up  of  small  scale  Aquaponic  system  during 2015-16.
- (c) Fish  species like  Tilapia, Anabas testudineus (climbing  perch),  vegetables  like  tomato,  chilly,  ladies finger,  brinjal,  spinach,  capsicum  and  flowers  like  petunia,  gerbera  are  the  aquaponic  produce grown in the country.
- (d) The  Fisheries  Research  Institutes  under  the  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR), namely,  the  Central  Institute  of  Freshwater  Aquaculture  (CIFA),  Bhubaneswar  and  the  Central Institute  of  Fisheries  Education  (CIFE),  Mumbai  have  carried  out  preliminary  studies  on  the potential of aquaponics.

The  CIFA,  Bhubaneswar  has  undertaken  an  aquaponic  project  entitled  'Development  of  a  low  cost Aquaponics  System  using  Plastics  for  urban  aquaculture' under  the  ICAR-All  India  Co-ordinated  Research Project  on  Plasticulture  Engineering  &  Technology.  A  nutrient  film  technique  (NFT)  aquaponics  system comprising of fish culture tank, submersible water pump, trickling filter and NFT grow pipe has been designed and developed. Under the project, Anabas testudineus (climbing perch), the fish species and Basella alba plants were used  as  a  combination  in  the  aquaponics  system.  The  survival  and  yield  of  fish  was  higher  in  the  aquaponic system.  In another experiment, the growth and survival of tilapia in the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) type aquaponics system has been studied.

The  CIFE,  Mumbai  and  the  Society  for  Appropriates  Rural  Technology  for  Sustainability  (ARTS), Kolkata  has  also  undertaken  a  project  entitled  'Developing  an  Aquaponics  and  Spirulina  Eco-park  and Demonstrate  Sustainable  Models  of  Urban  Aquaculture  and  Agriculture'  with  the  funding  support  from  the Mumbai  Metropolitan  Region  -  Environment  Improvement  Society  (MMR-EIS).  Under  the  project,  an aquaponic unit was set up at CIFE, Mumbai. In the system, Tilapia fish and vegetables like tomato, chilly, okra, brinjal, spinach, capsicum etc. were successfully grown. Some flowers like petunia, gerbera were also grown in the aquaponic system.  Further, the institute also carried out a number of projects on various aspects of aquaponics under their academic degree programmes. The aquaponics technology developed by the institute has also been transferred to an entrepreneur.

In normal aquaculture system, water gets loaded with nutrients from the fish waste and excess feed. The aquaponics offer a solution to remove the nitrogen and phosphorous compounds from the system and improves the overall efficiency of the culture system. In aquaponics system, the plants maintain the water quality by taking up the nutrients from the water and make water suitable for re-use. The aquaponic system uses less water. Water is re-cycled after absorption of nutrients by the plant in a closed-loop system. Aquaponics further economizes the conservation of water.