scholarly journals Aquaponics: The Ugly Duckling in Organic Regulation

Author(s):  
Paul Rye Kledal ◽  
Bettina König ◽  
Daniel Matulić

AbstractDue to the cyclic or systemic nature of both aquaponics and organic production, organic certification appears to be a natural step for a researcher, system designer or commercial-oriented aquaponics producer to engage in. However, the underlying principles and justifications of aquaponics and organic production differ considerably between respectively a technological- and a soil-based understanding of nutrient cycles and long-term sustainability in food production. These principles are confirmed in both the organic regulation regime of the EU and USA, and presently leave the question ambiguously open as to whether aquaponics as a food production system can be recognized and certified as organic. Despite an openness in the organic regulation for new knowledge, adaptations and innovations, the organic sector itself has shown a reluctance to recognize more knowledge-based intensive speciality crops and technologies. This is particularly difficult with respect to small organic sub-sectors such as horticulture and aquaculture production. Both are very specific subsystems of the agricultural sector, where aquaponics potentially would belong at the intersection between organic greenhouse horticulture and organic aquaculture. Organically certified aquaponics would therefore need to establish a niche within the organic sector. So in order to move forward, there is a great need for a more serious but open-minded exchange and discussion among the aquaponics and organic sub-sectors themselves to explore the potential but also limitations of their respective production models. However, between the two food production systems, there should be room for debate with a view to finding new and feasible roles for aquaponics in the organic community.

Author(s):  
Sandra Ríos Núñez ◽  
Leonor Núñez Yañez

ResumenEl modelo industrial de producción de alimentos ha incentivado la emergencia de cadenas agrarias alternativas. Estas suponen modelos de producción fuertemente vinculados al territorio y tienen la finalidad de transitar desde la producción industrial a la captura de valor por medio de sistemas de producción que garanticen la seguridad y soberanía alimentaria. Esta investigación analiza el funcionamiento de la agricultura orgánica en Chile, en tanto producción agraria no convencional, con la finalidad de perfilar su desarrollo como una estrategia de captura de valor y producción de alimentos saludables especialmente para pequeños productores agrarios. Se busca visibilizar modelos de producción que reconectan el flujo de producción-circulación-consumo a través de un mecanismo de gobernanza que posibilite la captura de valor en el territorio.AbstractThe current judgement of the agro-food industrial production has encouraged the emergence of alternative agro-food chains. These involves production models strongly linked to the territory, and that aim to transition from industrial production to capture value through production systems that ensure food security and sovereignty. This research analyzes the performance of organic agriculture in Chile, while unconventional agricultural production, in order to shape its development as a strategy to capture value and healthy food production especially for small farmers in order to visualize models production reconnect the production circulation-consumption through a governance mechanism that enables the capture of value in the territory.


Author(s):  
Rosario Edely Ortega Barriga ◽  
Walter Alejandro Zamalloa Cuba ◽  
Valdemar Luiz Tornisielo ◽  
Franz Zirena Vilca

<p align="center"><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p align="center"> </p><p>There is currently great interest in environmental pollutants in relation to food security; previous studies show that persistent organic pollutants  (POPs) could be found in small amounts, even in organic food; therefore, in this  research, 12 organochlorine pesticides residues (p, p'-DDD; p, p'-DDE, o,p'-DDD, o,p'DDE, Dicofol, α-endosulfan, β-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, α-BHC, β-BCH, heptachlor and mirex) were monitored in quinoa grains from organic production systems, sampled in the region of Puno – Peru; the QuEChERS method was used for pesticides extraction and gas chromatography coupled to an electron capture detector (GC-µECD) for the detection and quantification of the pesticides. The method was validated using a quinoa sample without pesticide residues used as a blank and spiked to 0.01 and 0.10 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>; means recoveries for pesticides ranged from 73.66 to 128.09% with RSD ≤ 16%; the method showed linearity of r<sup>2</sup> ≥ 0.99 and the Limits of Quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.001 to 0.010 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>. The results indicate that there is no matrix effect and reveal the presence of three organochlorine pesticides (p, p'-DDD, p, p'-DDE and mirex) in five different samples; two of them showed concentrations of p, p'-DDE above 0.01 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>. The results demonstrate the susceptibility of quinoa grain to the accumulation of toxic substances and show the need to establish new criteria for organic certification.</p><p align="center"> <br /><strong> </strong></p><p align="center"><strong> </strong></p><p align="center"><strong>RESUMEN</strong></p><p>En la actualidad existe un gran interés por los contaminantes ambientales en relación con la seguridad alimentaria; estudios previos muestran que los contaminantes orgánicos persistentes (COP) pueden ser encontrados en pequeñas cantidades, incluso en los alimentos orgánicos; por lo tanto, en esta investigación, residuos de 12 plaguicidas organoclorados (p, p'-DDD; p, p'-DDE, o,p'-DDD, o,p'DDE, Dicofol, α-endosulfan, β-endosulfan, sulfato de endosulfan, α-BHC, β-BCH, heptacloro y mirex) fueron monitoreados en granos de quinua de sistemas de producción orgánica muestreadas en la región de Puno-Perú, el método QuEChERS fue utilizado para la extracción de los pesticidas y un sistema cromatográfico de fase gaseosa acoplado a un detector de captura de electrones (GC-µECD) para la detección y cuantificación de los pesticidas. El método fue validado utilizando una muestra de quinua sin residuos de pesticidas utilizado como blanco, el mismo que fue fortificado a  0,01 y 0,10 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>; los promedios de recuperación para los pesticidas variaron entre 73,66 a 128,09% con un desviación estándar  ≤ 16%; el método mostro linealidad de r<sup>2</sup> ≥ 0,99 y los límites de cuantificación (LQ) variaron entre 0,001 a 0,010 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>, los resultados muestran que no existe efecto matriz y revelan la presencia de tres pesticidas organoclorados (p, p'-DDD, p, p'-DDE  y mirex) en cinco muestras diferentes, dos de ellas muestran concentraciones de p, p'-DDE mayores a  0,01 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>. Los resultados demuestran la susceptibilidad de los granos de quinua a acumular substancias toxicas y muestran la necesidad de establecer nuevos criterios para la certificación orgánica.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p align="center"><strong> </strong></p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Roberts

Since its early rudimentary forms, phosphate fertilizer has developed in step with our understanding of successful food production systems. Recognized as essential to life, the responsible use P in agriculture remains key to food security.


Author(s):  
Peerasak Puengpapat

This research is intended to compare and demonstrate the difference between the cost and benefit of organic farming and chemistry. Compare differences in the quality of yields and minerals in the soil both before and after cultivation and modeling of agribusiness. Using Business Model Canvas for the decision of agricultural entrepreneurs who want to modify the farming process.The research found that in the experiment comparing between the costs of Organic farming and Chemical farming to produce three types of vegetables that are cucumber ,red oak salad and radish, with the total cost of growing vegetables in Organic farming, higher than the total cost of growing vegetables in Chemical farming. There is a greater frequency of fertilizing and injecting Organic matter than chemical farming. The net profit from the sale of vegetables in the Organic agricultural sector is higher than the net profit from the sale of vegetables in the Chemical agricultural sector, as the production price of Organic agricultural sector is higher than the production price of Chemical agricultural sector because the production process of organic farming has a higher production process and requires higher production attention to produce quality, and another factor is that Organic vegetables have a higher production cost than vegetables from chemical farming, resulting in less volume of organic production in the market than vegetables from Chemical agricultural sector. Consumers are demanding more healthy Organic vegetables. As a result, the price of vegetables that produced by Organic agricultural sector is higher than the price of vegetables that produced by Chemical agricultural sector, and the Return on Investment in Organic vegetables is higher than the vegetables that produced by Chemical agricultural .The Return on Investment in production of Organic farming is 61.48% and The Return on Investment in production of Chemical farming is 33.87%. It is therefore possible to conclude that growing vegetables in Organic way is safe for vegetable farmers who do not have to be exposed to any harmful Chemicals, as well as the resulting produce that is safe from residues, allowing consumers to be safe from toxin residues and receive good quality vegetables. Type of Paper: Empirical/Experimental Keywords: Agricultural; Organics; Cost ;Business Model ;Comparison.


Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Patricia Ruiz-García ◽  
Cecilia Conde-Álvarez ◽  
Jesús David Gómez-Díaz ◽  
Alejandro Ismael Monterroso-Rivas

Local knowledge can be a strategy for coping with extreme events and adapting to climate change. In Mexico, extreme events and climate change projections suggest the urgency of promoting local adaptation policies and strategies. This paper provides an assessment of adaptation actions based on the local knowledge of coffee farmers in southern Mexico. The strategies include collective and individual adaptation actions that farmers have established. To determine their viability and impacts, carbon stocks and fluxes in the system’s aboveground biomass were projected, along with water balance variables. Stored carbon contents are projected to increase by more than 90%, while maintaining agroforestry systems will also help serve to protect against extreme hydrological events. Finally, the integration of local knowledge into national climate change adaptation plans is discussed and suggested with a local focus. We conclude that local knowledge can be successful in conserving agroecological coffee production systems.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 879
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Timpanaro ◽  
Ferdinando Branca ◽  
Mariarita Cammarata ◽  
Giacomo Falcone ◽  
Alessandro Scuderi

Climate change, food security, and the protection of the planet’s resources require the adoption of sustainable production models. Achieving sustainable development in the agri-food sector enables the creation of new opportunities for operators, guiding farmers towards more environmentally friendly practices and offering cost-effective results. Organic farming paradigms are promoted by the transformation of some harmful practices of conventional agriculture, such as the wide use of chemical products of synthesis, the deep workings that favor the erosive processes, the excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers. There are still gaps in the knowledge of the real performance of some products that strongly support the local economic system of Sicily (Italy). The research aims to highlight the differences in environmental impact caused by the cultivation of organic early potatoes compared to the conventional regime and the same per kg of product obtained. To this end, the widely used methodology for comparing the environmental impacts of agricultural production systems is the Life Cycle Assessment, which allows us to highlight the phases in which environmental criticalities are most concentrated. An interesting agroecological picture of knowledge emerges, since organic farming is by definition an ecological model that supports the principles of the Green Deal, it often requires interventions to improve the yields obtained in order to achieve a positive result both in terms of cultivated surface and kg of product obtained.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 15765-15770
Author(s):  
Tim Aschenbruck ◽  
Willem Esterhuizen ◽  
Murali Padmanabha ◽  
Stefan Streif

Author(s):  
Kgomotso Lebelo ◽  
Ntsoaki Malebo ◽  
Mokgaotsa Jonas Mochane ◽  
Muthoni Masinde

Historically, chemicals exceeding maximum allowable exposure levels have been disastrous to underdeveloped countries. The global food industry is primarily affected by toxic chemical substances because of natural and anthropogenic factors. Food safety is therefore threatened due to contamination by chemicals throughout the various stages of food production. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the form of pesticides and other chemical substances such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have a widely documented negative impact due to their long-lasting effect on the environment. This present review focuses on the chemical contamination pathways along the various stages of food production until the food reaches the consumer. The contamination of food can stem from various sources such as the agricultural sector and pollution from industrialized regions through the air, water, and soil. Therefore, it is imperative to control the application of chemicals during food packaging, the application of pesticides, and antibiotics in the food industry to prevent undesired residues on foodstuffs. Ultimately, the protection of consumers from food-related chemical toxicity depends on stringent efforts from regulatory authorities both in developed and underdeveloped nations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. S23-S37 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.F. Nisbet ◽  
J. Brown ◽  
B.J. Howard ◽  
N.A. Beresford ◽  
H. Ollagnon ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Shung Chang ◽  
Lydia Zepeda

AbstractIn Australia, the retail value of organic food production was estimated at A$250 million, with farm-gate value at around A$90 million and exports at around A$40 million, in 2002. The current share of organic sales in total food sales in Australia is about 1%. The growth rate in organic production was forecast to continue at 10–30% per annum. Despite the positive outlook, there are consumer concerns about product recognition and product integrity. To understand how demand for organic products is changing, it is important to investigate consumer attitudes and knowledge about these issues. The objective of this study was to identify issues that may hinder or promote demand. Given the qualitative nature of these issues, we used a focus group study to probe consumers. While focus group results are a qualitative approach and not intended to be generalizable, the results suggest directions for future research. The participants raised concerns about the use of chemicals, the treatment of farm animals and the environmental impact of food production. Organic food consumers were found to be more knowledgeable about organic foods, as well as being more tolerant of higher prices and inaccessibility. The results also suggest that increasing consumers' awareness of organic farming and certification, as well as the availability of organic foods, may be the most effective way of moving organic foods into mainstream.


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