Aquaponics in Puerto Rico: Assessing Opportunity in the Growing Industry
Sponsoring orga
nization: Agroponicos Cosecha de Puerto Rico, Inc.
Team members: Timothy Granger, Katherine Newell, Kyla Wesley, Paige Westlake
Abstract: Agroponicos Cosecha de Puerto Rico, Inc. operates the only aquaponics farm in Puerto Rico. Their goal is to create a widespread aquaponics industry on the island. We evaluated the opportunities for this industry’s growth by surveying the market interest of consumers, restaurants and grocery stores, and evaluating education in the field of aquaponics. The market was assessed based on organic and GMO-free products and education was evaluated based on a one-day vocational workshop about aquaponics. Data were analyzed, which indicated a lack of knowledge of organic and GMO-free products in the community. We created multiple recommendations for Agroponicos including distribution of informational pamphlets and the use of evaluation surveys for aquaponics workshop improvement.