Pierre Axiaq is an owner and farmer at Tal-Kampanjol Aquaponics Farm in Malta, who explained that following the tapping of funding under the Rural Development Programme for Malta 2014-2020 a group of young farmers embraced new and innovative agricultural techniques leading to the development of Malta’s first commercial aquaponics system.

Aquaponics is a method of food production which combines the best aspects of aquaculture and hydroponics to create a highly productive living ecosystem for sustainable agriculture.

Pierre Axiaq said that by cultivating fish and plants in multiple re-circulating system, fish waste is converted to plant food using natural bacterial cycles. This start-up has introduced cutting edge aquaponics techniques to grow vegetables on a commercial scale.

The project indirectly also has the potential to educate others about aquaponics and demonstrate how sustainability can became part and parcel of today’s agricultural framework, he said.

“Food security has become an important issue, especially when taken from the optic of climate change and the deriving challenges and consequences,” said Pierre Axiaq. “Hence agricultural practices need to adapt, and the uptake of new technologies and practices can be one of the required catalysts. In this regard, aquaponic systems allow for the introduction of innovative technologies which contribute towards addressing this issue through resource conservation and access to a reliable food source.”

Apart from this aspect, the project has relied extensively on the use of technology, which has been utilised as follows: The greenhouse includes an automated acclimatisation system controlled via microcontrollers, with temperature, humidity and moisture sensor, wind and rain sensors, automatically opening and closing ventilation louvres and intake fans, maintaining stable climatic conditions that ensure optimum produce growth.

Pierre Axiaq went on to explain that technology and innovative practices will also be used for growing vegetables with vertical living walls to optimise space usage, using deep-water rafts for large root crops and media beds with fine grain media for natural ‘bio filtering’ of water for recirculation and reutilisation.

The system design also includes a number of technological elements, including filtering systems and sensors to ensure that processes, such as irrigation schedules are automated as much as possible.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that Malta’s farming population is ageing rapidly and that there are fewer farmers coming to replace them.”

Pierre Axiaq said that tn Malta, 70% of the full-time farmers are over the age of 40. “Young farmers frequently need support and incentives to enter agricultural activity due to several barriers such as difficulties in acquiring land because of the high costs of either purchasing or renting, fragmentation of land, and difficulties in obtaining loans for business investment through regular commercial channels.”

Though many farmers have a keen interest in the sector, due to many financial barriers only a few eventually enter the world of farming and become professional farmers.

Measure 6.1 – Business Start-Up Aid for Young Farmers has enabled these new young farmers to enter the sector, he said.

Photos: Pierre Axiaq

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