What do tilapia fish, taro, bananas, and water crest have to do with each other? For Western SARE Farmer/Rancher grant recipient Vincent Calvo, they have quite a bit in common. Calvo has designed an experiment that will combine aquaculture and fertigation. He plans to raise tilapia fish for local sale and use the waste water from the fish to irrigate and fertilize taro, banana, and water crest.

Clearing the land for the fish ponds

At present, tilapia fish is imported to the island and is therefore quite expensive. Calvo wants to see if tilapia can be grown economically on the island. Commercial fertilizers are also imported and very expensive. He wants to see if the waste water from the fish ponds can be used to replace these commercial fertilizers. PVC pipes running from the fish pond will pump waste water directly into the plots of taro, bananas, and water crest.

The results of the project will be measured in two ways. The viability of raising tilapia fish will be determined from the market value of the fish at harvest time. The fertigated crops will be measured and compared to non-fertigated crops located on a nearby farm to determine the success of the fertigation.

The project is currently underway. In August, Calvo cleared the land and began digging the fish ponds. He has also begun planting citrus, banana, coconut, and short-term crops such as taro.