Eighteen-year-old Tanoya Garvey is looking to reshape Jamaica's agricultural landscape with her award-winning aquaponic system.
The sustainable food production network provides a solution to some of the pressing challenges faced by farmers such as limited access to land, irrigation and costly inputs such as fertilisers.
The grade 13 student at Marymount High School in St. Mary, took home the national award in Agri-Technology and Innovation at the Jamaica 4-H Clubs' National Achievement Expo held earlier this year at the 4-H Centre in Denbigh, Clarendon.
An aquaponics system combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil) in a closed-loop system, utilising fish waste to fertilise plants, while the plants filter the water for the fish.
The symbiotic relationship allows for the efficient production of both fish and plants, offering a sustainable food production method.
The use of the fish waste to supply nutrients to the plants eliminates the need for costly chemical fertilisers.
In an interview with JIS News, Tanoya shared that the aquaponics system was based on a similar project for her Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Club.
Tanoya Garvey
She noted that ahead of the competition finals she had to adjust the number of fish used based on the size of the system to allow for better oxygen availability and circulation.
She utilised lettuce as her plant and substituted Koi fish for tilapia. This is because of cost and the fact that tilapia can be consumed as opposed to Koi, which is an ornamental fish that is not typically eaten.
For her innovation, Tanoya was able to secure an opportunity for higher education at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland.
Head of the Science Department at Marymount High School and 4-H Advisor, Sophia Roache, who was one of the supervisors for the award-winning project, is encouraging more young people to join the 4-H movement and to take advantage of the opportunities provided.
"When it comes on to 4-H, young people can learn to be innovative because it calls for a lot of that. It also calls for a lot of creativity and it also calls for them to be exposed to a lot of different areas," she pointed out.
For his part, Audio/Visual Officer of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Shian Christie, who plays a practical role in organising events across the island, emphasised the importance of innovation and technology in modern farming, and the role of youth in this transformation.
"Youth bring fresh perspectives, creativity and a natural affinity for technology, which makes them critical drivers of innovation in agriculture," he pointed out.
He told JIS News that youth are adaptive and "their energy and openness to learning positions them to lead the shift toward more sustainable, efficient and tech-driven agricultural systems".
Mr. Christie highlighted various challenges faced by youth in agriculture and reiterated the Jamaica 4-H Clubs' mission to support, promote and award young minds who are transforming the agricultural landscape through technology and creativity.
"Young people often face challenges such as limited access to land, funding, training and digital infrastructure. Many also struggle with outdated perceptions of agriculture as unprofitable or labour-intensive," he noted.
"At the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, we actively work to counter these barriers by providing training and exposure to agri-tech tools and practices through workshops, boot camps and field demonstrations, access to resources such as grants, and small business support programmes tailored for youth-led agribusiness ventures," he detailed.
Mr. Christe shared that the movement also hosts innovation competitions "that reward creativity and problem-solving and promote a positive image of agriculture through school clubs, leadership programmes, and media campaigns to rebrand the sector as modern and impactful."
Source: Jamaican Information Service