Greenhouse for fish and vegetables: Ca’ Foscari starts aquaponics in Veneto, Friuli and Slovenia

Producing lettuce and trouts in the same greenhouse with the same water without land nor pesticides. It is possible thanks to aquaponics, a ‘green’ technology combining aquaculture and hydroponics that is renowned but not widespread yet and will be a ‘must’ in the future.

In the meanwhile it is becoming a subject of study with a project, Bluegrass, guided by Ca’ Foscari and financed by the European Commission through the international cooperation programme Interreg Italy-Slovenia. The goal is to divulge sustainable agrofood technology in Veneto, Friuli and Capodistria.

In an aquaponic system fish farming makes vegetable production possible. The water coming from the fish tank is filtered and bring nutrients to the plants. A small system can produce up to 500 kg of fish and 4,6 t of salad per year. Zucchini, aubergine, tomatoes and even fruit trees can be cultivated. In the other half of the greenhouse trouts, carps, tenches and almost any other freshwater fish.

The project includes a market analysis, the creation of pilot systems in Italy and Slovenia and communicating to the consumer through educational activities and workshops, and involves farmers who would be interested in innovating their production technologies.

Thanks to aquaponics, small farms can extend and diversify production. Young people enjoy its innovation and technological inputs. It can easily include workers with disabilities and it offers consumers sustainable farm-to-table products.

“Technology is a great asset to develop urban agriculture” explains Daniele Brigolin, the researcher who coordinates the project. “It can be an opportunity for developing countries which must increase their food production safely, intensively and with a reduced water consumption.

The team at Ca’ Foscari composed by Brigolin brings together professor Roberto Pastres and researchers Andrea Alberto Forchino and Elio Cannarsa. It has already created a pilot system in the WWF oasis in Valle Averto, producing tenches and lettuce (in the picture).

From this experience the Interreg project was conceived, It will be conducted by the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics at Ca’ Foscari in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana, the Intercommunal Territorial Union of Noncello (Pordenone), KZ-Agraria in Capodistria and social cooperative Shoreline in Trieste.

The project will be presented on October 26th at 10am (in Italian) in the Aula Baratto at Ca’ Foscari.