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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC RE-CIRCULATORY AGRI-AQUACULTURE TECHNOLOGY (IMRAAT) MODEL FOR FUTURE FOOD SECURITY
    (2022) Das, Sagarika; Chowdhury, Supratim; Kaviaj, Anilava; Dora, K.C.; Sahu, Somen; Nath, Swarnadyuti; Murmu, Prasanta
    Land and water are two vital live-supporting elements in the earth that are under severe threat due to human explosion, urbanization, unparallel growth, rapid development, and changing climate which results in food insecurity, poverty, water scarcity, and environmental pollution. The global population is expected to increase by 9.7 billion in 2050. About of 70% of agriculture and 26% aquaculture-cum-live-stock production should be enhanced to feed that population from the limited and shrinking natural recourses. In this context, an integrated multi-trophic re-circulatory agri-aquaculture technology model was designed for growing fish and agriculture crops in stacked layers one above another to enhance crop production per unit area of land with irrigation for agriculture by re-cycled waste-water of fish tanks/aquaria. In this system, two fish species tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and pangas (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), and six leafy vegetables, lettuce (Lactuca sativa), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), coriander (Coriandrum sativum), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), radish (Raphanus sativus) and red amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) were cultivated at four trophic layers at three units for 120 days. The growth and production of fish and leafy vegetables, quality of effluent and influent water, and economics of production were assessed following the standard procedures. In Unit-I, the production of pangas (stocking density of fingerlings 40 or 33/m2), tilapia (stocking density of fingerlings 40 or 73/m2), red amaranth, and lettuce were 1226.64 g/m2, 4519.45 g/m2, 4239.22 g/m2, and 5810.61 g/ m2 respectively, In Unit-II, 1433.62 g/m2 pangas (stocking density of fingerlings 50 or 42/m2), 5277.38 g/m2 tilapia (stocking density of fingerlings 50 or 91/m2), 4361.69 g/m2 spinach and 2530.92 g/m2 fenugreek were produced. And in Unit- III, the production of pangas (stocking density of fingerlings 60 or 50/m2), tilapia (stocking density of fingerlings 60 or 109/m2), radish, and coriander were 1449.57g/m2, 5570.16 g/m2, 3413.79 g/m2, and 3774.75 g/m2 respectively. It was remarkably recorded that 1.2 kg of pangas, 4.5 kg of tilapia, 4.2 kg of red amaranth, and 5.8 kg of lettuce were produced in 120 days at unit-I in a space area of 1.0 m2 only and made a return of Rs. 2,230.00/- against the investment of Rs. 1,402.80/-only as operational costs. Among the fish and vegetable species of the study, tilapia fish and lettuce leafy vegetables were the most suitable species for cultivation in an integrated multi-trophic agri-aquaculture system. The results of the experiments showed that the “Integrated Multi-trophic Recirculatory Agri-Aquaculture Technology (IMRAAT)” model is a technology to produce fish and vegetables organically in tiny spaces in urban and semi-urban areas. The experiment also depicted the use of wastes and wastewater (effluent) generated in aquaculture as a major source of nutrients (such as total nitrogen and total phosphorus) for agriculture. On the other hand, it reduced aquacultural wastes, which controls water pollution. The Economic Analysis of the model showed that the combinations of fish and plant in Unit-I (PI = 158.97%) and Unit-III (PI = 121.51%) were more profitable than Unit-II (PI = 101.97%), which depends on the size of the unit, the material used, and the combinations of fish and plants. Hence, it is concluded that the model is economically viable and one of the most preferred alternatives for sustainable organic food (animal and plant) production systems and feasible to establish in urban and semiurban areas, where scarcity of land and water is acute.