Preliminary Economics of Aquaponics

1. Preliminary Economics of Aquaponics Harry Ako and PingSun Leung Depts. of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering and Natural Resource and Environmental Management College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources University of Hawaii at Manoa • We generated a simple economic model that was fun to play with and I came to some interesting projections. • We gathered information from farmers which was very interesting to me. • I therefore told Clyde, why don’t we have a workshop? A little out of hand.

2. Why? • We thought that aquaponics might be good for island ecosystems because it is 6 times more productive per unit area of land, uses on 2% of the water as traditional agriculture and releases no effluent into the environment . It is non-polluting. • We just got back from Samoa. • E-mail hako@hawaii.edu for how to manual.

3. Research(introduction, not report) • We worked on a very simple system. Plywood sheet with walls, tub for fish, air pump, bucket. Shown. • Both the Ako approach and the Fox/Tamaru approach are highly technical

4. What we did: Economics determined by materials cost to build an 8 plywood system and cost of operations This report is based on real numbers and very modest extrapolation. Recorded the price of the wood, every brick, PVC pipe etc. Labor not accounted for.

5. Capital Costs (extrapolations from 8 plywood system; start with one plywood backyard system) • Cost of each component of • each item. • Lifetime of each item. • Costs 3.5 X higher for pre-made • systems or another kind of system aincludes wood, screws, plastic, polystyrene sheets bbuild yourself; this is not as good an assumption when the system is large.

6. Capital Cost Annualized costs are costs/lifetime in years • a4 feet wide, 100 feet long; see figure • b use larger tanks • cuse blower for larger operation • dvs$8000, chosen for energy conservation reasons ($90/yr vs $4300/yr) • edoesa farm this size need a van? • Build yourself

7. Annual variable costs (extrapolated from one tray) amost of us grow our own; costs are nursery costs bat $0.30/kwh; cOasis cubes mostly; dfor the 1 plywood or backyard system, approx. 2 hr/wk; for the 1 raceway 5-10 hr/wk; 5 raceway, approx 20 hr/wk

8. Production (based on our data; lb/yr; pieces/wk) Farmers can be more or less productive These values predict sizes of niche markets that can be serviced. afrom mediocre season like Spring; 250 g/head bmarket size= l 1b http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11697156/Tilapia_Fillet_Light_Skinned_CO_Treated.jpg

9. The thoughts on planning • Choose the production volume you would like to do. • This in most cases determines the markets you can compete in and the prices you can get. • A common error is to produce without thinking about the market.

10. Suppose you want to have a One plywood/tray system (backyard) • Our production numbers say 7.4 heads of lettuce or other vegetable per week. Maybe 1 fish/wk. Is this enough for a family? • You save by not having to go to the supermarket. Prices, retail, $5.60/lb for lettuce and $9/lb for live fish. Thus, based on the model a backyarder could save about $1,400 a year at the grocery store. Pays for this system in a few months (there are more expensive systems). Or just like the idea of being self-sufficient?

11. Suppose you want to have a Six plywood or ½ raceway system (farmers’ market) • Our production numbers say 44 heads of lettuce a week. Enough for farmers’ market? Five fish a week. • Prices, retail, $5.60/lb for lettuce and $9/lb for live fish. • Will have to rent stall, go to farmers’ market, deal with food safety issues etc. Thus, based on the model a farmers’ market person could earn about $8,000 a year. Decide for yourself whether it is worth it.

12. (In Pacific Business News) Now Janet and her husband, Ray, have cultivated a small business — with a big customer following — selling lettuce and other greens at Manoa Marketplace’s open-air market….The bags range from$2 to $6, depending on the size….

13. Suppose you want to have a Small farm (5 raceway system) • Our production numbers say 443 heads of lettuce per week. Is this enough for small specialty store? And 50 fish/week. • Prices they say are $3/lb for lettuce and $6/lb for live fish. • Capital costs for pre-made or other systems are 3-4 times higher than ours. Thus, based on the model a small farmer could earn $42,000 a year if all goes well. Premature conclusion. You can make money but won’t become a millionaire.

14. A five raceway operation

15. Suppose you want a large farm Farm (40 raceway system) • Our production numbers say 506 heads of lettuce per day. Is this enough for a discount supermarket? The 400 fish a week would probably overwhelm the live fish market. • Prices might be $2.25/lb for lettuce and $6/lb for live fish (though this high price may become unlikely). Cost of labor would have to come out of profit. We estimate 4-6 workers. The farmer would be profitable if he or she did everything right.

16. Can you compete at mainland prices? Farm (40 raceway system) • Our production numbers say 506 heads of lettuce per day. Is this enough for a discount supermarket? The 400 fish a week would probably overwhelm the live fish market. • Prices might be $1.25/lb for lettuce and $6/lb for live fish (though this high price may become unlikely). Cost of labor would have to come out of profit. We estimate 4-6 workers. Six workers would make the business unprofitable.

17. Summary • We developed a preliminary economic model • Working with the model was fun • It predicted profitability if there is technical excellence and imaginative niche marketing • We can comfortably recommend aquaponics on these bases. A person can make money but will not become a millionaire • I enjoyed learning a little economics • I especially enjoyed learning from the farmers

18. Acknowledgements • CTSA seed money grant • Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education • CTSA Pacific Island grant