Aquaponics training at the has received $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). It is one of eight grants totalling $3.9 million for rural economic development projects and is part of NIFA’s .

“This project will address key community training needs relevant for local agriculture,” said Chancellor Lui Hokoana, one of the principal investigators. “The potential impacts of the project include advancing knowledge in the application of precision agriculture technologies in aquaponics production systems and developing sustainable food systems in �鶹��ý for food security and community resiliency.”

The Adapting Precision Farming Technologies for Sustainable Aquaponics Systems in �鶹��ý project will be conducted at the campus’ WaiPono Farm aquaponics and hydroponics greenhouse. The project focuses on the priority area of agriculture systems and technology by expanding workforce training using precision agriculture technologies in aquaponics systems.

This project proposes to create a new program to enhance the college’s agricultural workforce training with a goal of training participants aged 16+ in �鶹��ý. It includes a 16-week apprenticeship-based workforce training program involving 80 hours of paid work-based learning at the WaiPono Farm site, culminating in the award of the Sustainable Aquaponics System Certificate of Professional Development and Aquaponics Apprenticeship Certificate of Professional Development.

The project also aims to assess the effectiveness of integrating locally sourced fish feed and nutritious native plants through student-led projects that integrate remote monitoring devices and data analysis, and increase the number of students pursuing college and career pathways in agriculture, with a minimum of 70% continuing education and/or employment in agriculture-related fields.

The Sustainable Living Institute of Maui launched the WaiPono Farm in 2016 to develop, model and promote innovative, sustainable food systems methods and practices in controlled environment greenhouses in urban and rural settings using aquaponics and hydroponics growing technologies, capacity building frameworks and education programs to support food security, economic development through food innovation and regenerative agriculture.

Hokoana concluded, “In the wake of the global pandemic and its negative impact on the workforce in �鶹��ý, learning precision farming skills and technology in the applied environment of aquaponics systems holds the potential to support effective, efficient and productive agricultural systems for new and established farmers.”

Three researchers at the have won a national fellowship and will receive $350,000 funding over three years to assist Waimānalo families with backyard aquaponics to sustainably produce healthy food.

The project will connect the modern technology of aquaponics with Native Hawaiian food practices. Aquaponics taps into the power of the natural symbiotic relationship between fish and plants, and combines the raising of plants in water with raising fish in tanks to create a sustainable, contained food production system.

The fellowship was awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to promote health equity in the U.S.

The research team is comprised of , an associate professor with the �鶹��ýMānoa in the ; Ilima Ho-Lastimosa, community coordinator at the Waimānalo Learning Center and an education specialist in the (TPSS) in the ; and , a TPSS associate specialist.

The study embraces the perspective that health is holistic and interconnected with our culture, families, communities and the ʻ�徱�Բ�
—Jane Chung-Do

They will expand their work with families in Waimānalo to develop an aquaponics program to grow fresh fruits and vegetables and raise fish that families can use to prepare meals and Hawaiian medicines. This builds on the decade-long work that Ho-Lastimosa has been promoting in her community of Waimānalo.

The researchers will recruit Native Hawaiian families in Waimānalo to participate in aquaponics lessons and will guide the families in building and maintaining backyard systems. The researchers will follow up to see whether the systems are successful in helping the participants increase their intake of and access to fresh fruits, vegetables and fish, as well as promote healthy eating habits. In addition, impacts on participants’ mental wellness, cultural identity, family strength and community connectedness will be measured.

“Our goal is to restore Native Hawaiian practices related to food and community,” said Chung-Do. “The study embraces the perspective that health is holistic and interconnected with our culture, families, communities and the ʻ�徱�Բ�.”

As a public health scientist, Chung-Do has worked to enhance the wellness of children and families in �鶹��ý, especially in rural and minority communities.

Radovich was born and raised in Waimānalo and holds a PhD in horticulture. His expertise is in sustainable and organic farming systems.

Ho-Lastimosa grew up on the Waimānalo Homestead and holds masters degrees in social work and acupuncture; she is also a master gardener. The community leader and cultural practitioner in Waimānalo founded God’s Country Waimānalo, a group that initiated a food sovereignty and sustainability movement in the community.

—By Theresa Kreif

See a related story on UH News.

Aquaponics business, entrepreneurship and introduction to commercial aquaponics science courses begin January 17 at . The classes are designed for backyard, small-scale and commercial entrepreneurs ready to enhance their understanding learn more about the applications of business and aquaponic science side of growing food in a soilless aquatic environment with fish.

The courses aim to meet the needs of new aquaponics business owners who need training themselves to meet required industry aligned methods and food safety and sanitation requirements. Business topics will include business planning principles and, marketing, energy conservation of sustainable soil-less food production.

The hands on lab opportunity will be conducted in the brand the new commercial-scale aquaponics controlled environment greenhouse situated right on the Maui College Kahului campus. Classes will support new entrepreneurs the opportunity to increase their understanding of fundamental of fundamental concepts and applications in business start-ups and early-stage agribusiness to be applied in a real world environment. 

The courses are being offered online for rural Maui and Neighbor Island students.

“Entrepreneurial thinking is being able to simplify complicated concepts, and create great experiences and opportunities for customers and the marketplace,” said Instructor Leo Kaniela Caires.

Registration information

Registration is open UH Systemwide until January 13 and students may audit or sign up to earn credit toward an aquaponics technician certification. For students with day jobs, the course is offered online and in the evenings to include both weekly lectures and lab.

Register online

For more information, read the .

Kauaʻi Community College’s aquaponics program reached a milestone—since 2013 the program has sold more than $25,000 of produce and honey cultivated in its aquaponics and apiary facilities at the .

Ueli Muller, manager of aquaponics program reported that over the years Kauaʻi CC’s aquaponics facility has successfully grown and sold ten different kinds of lettuces, including butter head, types of romaine, summer crisp varieties and oak leaf; mizuna; mint; watercress; arugula; cilantro; napa cabbage; red cabbage; varieties of beets; fennel; varieties of basil; and tatsoi. The honey, coming straight from the college’s beehives, varies richly in hues and flavors.

“Thanks to all my team members and volunteers who have assisted me over the years and put in so much work and dedication to the cause,” said Muller. Every week Kauaʻi CC staff can be seen at the market busily making sales and teaching customers about where and how the items are grown. The income from sales is used to purchase supplies for the aquaponics and apiary programs.

“I commend Muller, his staff and members of the apiary program for their diligent efforts, which have brought us to this impressive level,“ said Helen Cox, Kauaʻi CC Chancellor. “We are proud of our programs and weekly presence at the Kauaʻi Community Market,” she said.

Aquaponics and apiary classes will continue to be held through Kauaʻi Community College’s Office of Continuing Education and Training (OCET). “Backyard farming has indeed a place in agriculture sustainability,” said (OCET) Director Calvin Shirai.

“Kauaʻi (CC) is a place where we are promoting a lifestyle that is sustainable—where growing our own food is a way of life,” said Chancellor Cox. “We support agriculture as a viable industry for Kauaʻi and members of the community who love to garden and want to grow their own food,” she said.

More about the Kauaʻi Community Market

The Kauaʻi Community Market, held every Saturday in the campus’ front parking lot from 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m., was voted Best Farmer’s Market every year since 2012. Frequented by visitors from other islands, states and countries, with residents of all ages and from all parts of the island, it has become a gathering place where healthy, freshly produced food is abundant and ready to take home and enjoy.

The University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa College of Education , in partnership with the Department of Education’s (CTE) unit and the state , are working together to develop an entry-level industry aquaponics technician certification curriculum designed to include all youth in transition headed for natural resources production career pathways after high school.

The innovative pilot CTE curriculum is aligned to industrial-recognized aquaponics standards and food safety best practices to lead students to entry-level employment in aquaculture job sectors. While still in high school, students will begin to gain access to competitive wage earning careers in commercial aquaponics farm production or starting their own family agribusiness.

“The CTE aquaponics technician pathway and its use of universal design for learning provides inclusive opportunity to support the diverse needs of all youth in transition gaining skills to enter the workforce,” said JoAnn Yuen, incoming director of the UH Mānoa Center on Disability Studies.

“�鶹��ý employs less than 10 percent of individuals with disabilities. We need to raise expectations and self-determination through workforce development and self-employment projects such as the CTE aquaponics technician training curriculum,” added Yuen,

More on aquaponics

Aquaponics is a soilless farming method in which plants are fertilized by water infused with nutrient-filled fish waste. Aquaponics systems funnel old water from fish tanks into water tanks containing plants such as produce. The plants absorb nutrients from the old fish tank water, essentially filtering waste from the water before it is released back into fish tanks.

Aquaponics as an emerging food production industry has a range of hands-on, entry-level skills sets, which are flexible in engaging unserved and underserved adult learners many with histories of chronic underemployed and unemployment outside the competitive job market.

For the full story, read the .

Program Coordinator Bernie Tsao talks about the role aquaponics can play in sustainability.