Engineers' Angle | Soilless farming: an engineered solution for Jamaica’s agricultural sector

Soil-less farming? To the average person, this would perhaps sound fictional, or at the very least, contradictory. But the concept is neither new nor far-fetched.

Soil-less farming is made possible through a system referred to as aquaponics. Broadly speaking, aquaponics is a scalable farming approach that seeks to optimise the use of scarce resources such as water and labour, and eliminate the use of pesticides.

This farming technology could be the engineered solution to one of humanity's most basic problems, food scarcity.

Aquaponics is especially useful for countries with the kind of environmental circumstances in which Jamaica finds itself.

Jamaica, being rich in its natural resources, relies heavily on agriculture as one of its major economic activities. In every parish, some form of crop production can be identified, and agriculture is undoubtedly a main driver of economic growth.

Unfortunately, the agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable to unfavourable weather conditions and inefficiencies related to its resource-intensive and underdeveloped practices.

Jamaica periodically experiences drought conditions, hurricanes and floods which negatively affect activities of farmers by reducing crop yields and curtailing activities.

Between 2004 and 2012, the country incurred losses of $8.4 billion due to hurricanes. Even last year, heavy rains were responsible for losses totalling an estimated $800 million.

It's about time our country gives attention to more technologically advanced practices. Jamaica's agricultural practices generally have not evolved much over the years, even with a growing need for effective natural resource management.

Improvements are therefore paramount as traditional techniques are, in some respects, harmful to the natural environment. Compounding these issues is the fact that traditional practices are also severely affected by adverse climatic conditions creating setbacks, which negatively affect the country in the long run.

Towards a solution to Jamaica's agricultural woes

It is being proposed that aquaponics, designed within a structurally engineered facility, with geotechnical considerations that treat with extreme flooding, and resource optimisation to deal with efficiency of farming operations, could serve to catapult the agricultural industry into the 21st century.

Several researchers have found that greenhouse facilities utilising aquaponics may be able to mitigate the effects of drought, while protecting crops from damaging winds and flood waters. Through effective management, the proper use of water resources and resilient structures, we can enable the continuous production of consistent and profitable crop yields.

The inevitable question, at this stage perhaps, is what is aquaponics? This is a combination of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (farming using only water) to grow specific crops and fish. In this closed-loop system, fish waste supplies nutrients to the plants that are in direct contact with a water solution from a tank, allowing for convenient absorption. This water is then cycled back to the fish tank.

This system, by nature of its operation, is extremely water efficient and creates crops with higher yields and quality. It can also be used to produce crops where water and nutrients are scarce. The amount of water used is the absolute minimum necessary and is only about 10 per cent of that needed to grow similar plants in soil.

Aquaponics with passive solar greenhouses would enable continuous year-round food production. With the right system and structure, you can have a high-production and self-sufficient growing environment. Here are some of the benefits that could be garnered from such a system:

- Increase in local food production.

- Increase profits for farmers.

- Improved productivity metrics in the agricultural sector.

- Boosts in the development of agriculture and a stimulus for greater investment in the sector.

- Protection of Jamaica's natural resources and environment.

- Positive overall effect on the economy, given the pivotal role of agriculture on other sectors.

- Development of a method of farming that benefits from technological and engineering disciplines.

Developments in the field

Today, researchers are focused on profit maximisation by effectively improving crop production through aquaponics. This research also extends to identifying sustainable methods of increased production.

Moving forward, aquaponics looks to more sustainable development through greater input from engineers and other consultants in systems design. There will also be sustained data collection on the resource use, cost-benefit analysis, and life cycle assessment of aquaponics.

Furthermore, there are hopes for implementation of renewable energy sources and greater incorporation of rainwater in these systems. Investment in the cutting-edge technology of agriculture is necessary to give today's youth a well-deserved chance to develop and explore practices beneficial to the growth of our nation.

- Oneil Josephs is the director of the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Technology. He is conducting research on aquaphonics with students, including Sean Ellis, Keyanna Martell, Evan Brown, Paul Pounall and Jonoy Wilson. Send questions and comments to, editorial@gleanerjm.com or jie@cwjamaica.com. You may also leave your comments for the JIE's Technical Committee at our Facebook page: Jamaica Institution of Engineers JIE.