In the Caribbean, climate-related events are major threats to the agricultural sector, affecting food security and livelihoods. Small agricultural enterprises are among the most vulnerable, because many lack the technology, knowledge and financing to implement climate-adaptive measures.
INMED Caribbean and INMED Partnerships for Children are world leaders in the field of aquaponics and have implemented numerous aquaponics systems for technical schools, incarcerated youth, individuals with disabilities and distressed communities throughout Jamaica.
Aquaponics is a climate-adaptive agriculture technique that combines fish farming with hydroponics (soilless crop production) in a closed system that produces year-round harvests at a rate roughly 10 times higher than traditional farming. Aquaponics consumes up to 90% less water, is scalable to any space (urban or rural) and is resilient to destructive climate change events. It also uses no chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
INMED has developed a simplified version of aquaponics that uses locally available materials, is easy to operate and maintain and can withstand extreme weather events. Smallholder farmers, women, youth and people with disabilities on 3 continents are running INMED Aquaponics® systems and prospering.
The fish tank produces nutrient-rich water that is piped through the grow beds, fertilizing the crops and eliminating the need for costly pesticides, herbicides or fungicides.