"We're working with sturgeons, tilapia, and goldfish and it's been working great so far. Tilapia are favorable for their taste, whereas there's a steep demand for deploying sturgeons in aquaponics as caviar is another spinoff product aside from the fish itself, which makes a great income. Though, it takes about five to eight years to have a mature sturgeon before you can 'harvest' high-quality caviar," says Kengo Hamada, Founder and CEO of Aquponi.
Kengo Hamada
Aquponi has been innovating with hybrid aquaponic-based systems since its nativity. Mainly focusing on the Japanese market, the company supplies full packages for either commercial growers, ESG corporations, or schools interested in STEM projects. Thus far, Aquponi has been cultivating over 67 kinds of crops with five fish varieties, spread out over 47 projects. Being as hands-on as they like, fish breeding is done in-house, as well as the forming of substrate.
VerticalFarmDaily visited Aquponi's R&D site. Have a look at their facility here.
Spreading awareness
With the US as a leading example, Kengo sees Japan as an increasingly potential market. Operating and improving his solutions for more than five years now, he is persistent in becoming a dominating, national and international supplier.
"Given that aquaponics hasn't touched the ground yet in Japan, we're spreading the word about the possibilities of this farming method. Therefore, we anticipate expanding our brand domestically given the interest in our solution. We aim to create a certification for consumer aquaponically grown products."
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The basin can be accessed from the cultivation area. Feeding is handled via the farm management software as well.
Hands-on farm management
Aquponi is a firm believer in hands-on cultivation, and especially in aquaponics, Kengo finds that it's all about knowing what's going on in the farm. Before venturing into the sweet combination of fish and lettuce, Kengo has been studying and specializing in the subject out of the US for two years.
Aquponi's farm management software can be used on any kind of mobile device
"Once I got back to Japan I knew I wanted to insert technology to aquaponic farming which is not common, but so much more efficient." Therefore, Kengo started tracking all his farming inputs three years ago from its pilot facility, developing a farm management system that fully tracks every plant, farm input per worker, all nutrients, growing parameters and more. "In this way, we can track everything down, monitor and improve given we're working with two living organisms. We can early on see whether they will be sick or how they got sick."
To ensure a smooth integration of Aquponi's system, the team has academic services to fully train staff, set up a curriculum and consult the prospect on everything they need to know before entering the market. By having all inputs and outputs in one program, new farmers will be able to hit the ground running much quicker, Kengo believes. "By boosting the traceability we'll be creating transparency, creating a proper value chain."
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At the feet of the growing towers, unused space is filled up with space for other products, such as lettuce
Exploring aquaponics with eels
Besides 'mainstream fish', Aquponi has been experimenting with eel as well since it's highly favored domestically. Partnering with eel farmers, Kengo is exploring the potential of aquaponics and eel production for businesses to expand their revenue models.
"Unfortunately, eel farming is another profession that's highly stagnating in our country. Working together with farmers, we can help them adopt automation and farm control through our all-round solution. On top of that, with our new certificate, eel farmers will be able to ask a premium for their products given the animals and plants are grown sustainably."
Kengo aims to set up a full package that includes the hardware, and software. The software can be remotely controlled and exported from Japan to other countries. Using apps allows for much more flexibility client-wise, Kengo let us know.
For more information:
Aquponi Inc.
Kengo Hamada, Founder and CEO
Tel.: +81 (0)50 5539 1923
https://aquaponics.co.jp