The world is facing a number of serious problems of which population rise, climate change, soil degradation, water scarcity and food security are among the most important.
The main objective of SMARTECOPONICS is the design and development of a novel approach for monitoring the main biological hasards affecting consumers of aquatic foods. This includes pathogens (coliforms and cyanobacteria) and biotoxins that, when consumed beyond the threshold, can lead to illness. The proposal offers a complete solution to monitor microbiological species involved in maintaining the equilibrium among microbial activity, nutrients and wastes along the value chain of aquaponics to avoid human health risks. One aspect of this equilibrium is the reduction of new water make-up consumption, which could increase the bacterial concentration, this risk has to be minimised.
Aquaponics is an integrated multi-trophic system that combines elements of recirculating aquaculture and hydroponics; the water from the fish tanks that is enriched in nutrients is used for plant growth. The interlinking of aquaculture and hydroponic procedures allows some of the shortcomings of the respective systems to be addressed, and this represents a promising sustainable food production method.
*At the time of the proposal. Please consider this data as an accurate estimate; it may vary during the project’s lifespan.
Total costs include in kind contribution by grant holders and can therefore be higher than the total requested funding.