Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

As agricultural issues are becoming more complex in terms of environmental and energy constraints, productivity is one of the major performance challenge for new agricultural systems. Aquaponics, the ingenious system combining aquaculture and crops above ground, increasingly appears as a sustainable solution. This technique that tends to be developed in urban areas, is the process used by Verdeen, the start-up where I did my internship.
Verdeen is a company located on the island of Tahiti where the conditions are optimal to raise Tilapia, a fish species very suitable for aquaculture, and to cultivate plants that can grow in tropical conditions. The issue that is faced by Verdeen is: how to answer the will of the Polynesian population to consume quality fruits and vegetables when Poly[...]

As agricultural issues are becoming more complex in terms of environmental and energy constraints, productivity is one of the major performance challenge for new agricultural systems. Aquaponics, the ingenious system combining aquaculture and crops above ground, increasingly appears as a sustainable solution. This technique that tends to be developed in urban areas, is the process used by Verdeen, the start-up where I did my internship.
Verdeen is a company located on the island of Tahiti where the conditions are optimal to raise Tilapia, a fish species very suitable for aquaculture, and to cultivate plants that can grow in tropical conditions. The issue that is faced by Verdeen is: how to answer the will of the Polynesian population to consume quality fruits and vegetables when Polynesian agriculture has to deal with super pests that have very short reproductive cycles? Verdeen appears as an interesting solution with the project of making Tahiti self-sufficient for fruits and vegetables, by producing large quantities with much less water than conventional systems and without chemical input; it would avoid the importation of those products, that is a default option for Polynesians.
During my internship, I was able to identify efficient nutrient solutions, to find the best way to recycle them and to model the fish releases to couple aquaculture and plants modules. Going beyond that, I also had to build my own greenhouse with its own irrigation system and protocol. I had the opportunity to create my own aquaponics system and conduct trials as well. I was able to find the best varieties of plants for Verdeen, cultivation methods to adopt and how to optimize the nutrient solution composed of water from fish and recycled water.
All these works were the chance to perform computer modeling and develop software available for the company. Such software can be further improved by Verdeen over the years but are already very popular and valuable for other farmers on the island.
This internship was very instructive insofar as I discovered aquaculture and learned how to create and develop greenhouses and aquaponics modules. Today I intend to pursue my career with as ambitious projects as this one and work closer to production. The R&D jobs are stimulating both for the creativity needed and for the technique required. I leave Verdeen with the good feeling that the project is making an essential contribution to the agricultural future of Polynesia and that it could meet the agricultural challenges of tomorrow.