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Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Sustainability Whether it is in a developed country or a developing one, agriculture forms an important sector in improving economic growth. This sector, which mainly involves agro-based industries, is imperative in determining the economic performance of a nation. This is because it is the backbone of a nation’s products due to major of the raw materials are obtained from the farms. In terms of funding, consultation, technology as well as research and development (R&D), the development of this agriculture sector would help Malaysia to reduce its dependency on food imported from foreign countries. Established in 2016, Penang-based Cregreentech Sdn. Bhd. (CTSB) has successfully developed a new technology for vegetable farming that would be able to produce higher yields compared to the conventional way of farming. With its tagline, “A Cutting-Edge Urban Farming, Now Everyone Can Farm!”, the new way of farming produced by CTSB is called Cregreen Tech Aquaponics. This breakthrough has created a new revolution in farming using different approach. Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (fish rearing) and hydroponics (the process of growing plants, with added nutrients but without soil) that breed fish and grow plants together in one integrated system. The waste produced by reared fish or other aquatic Aquaponics is the combination creatures will supply nutrients for hydroponically of aquaculture (fish rearing) and grown plants, in which the plants would then purify the water. hydroponics (the process of growing plants, with added nutrients Using this principle, CTSB has successfully developed a sustainable, synergistic and affordable but without soil) that breed fish crop production system. Through Cregreen Tech and grow plants together in one Aquaponics, all requirements for fish breeding and plants growing can be found together in one integrated system. system. This one of a kind technology has reduced the risks involved in agriculture industry. 2 CREGREEN TECH SDN BHD Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Sustainability “My deep understanding and wide experience in aquaponics farming have enabled myself to apply the knowledge in developing an integrated system known as Cregreen Tech Aquaponics System. CTSB also implements the latest technology in the system so that the product could help farmers to increase their vegetables yields, and also able to make second income through fish rearing. Not only that, the system would also be able to prevent main risks in the agriculture industry, which are bugs problems and natural disaster.” Mr Sean Tam, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Cregreen Tech Sdn Bhd CREGREEN TECH SDN BHD 3 Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Sustainability Developing a Comprehensive Aquaponics System with Innovation Drives CTSB is the first aquaponics provider catering ammonia from the fish waste into nitrites, and then aquaponics system for households, commercial into nitrates (a form of nitrogen that plants can officers, individuals and other businesses who uptake and use to grow). wants to have an aquaponics system in growing healthy food. To differentiate itself from other CTSB has developed an indoor farm in Perai, aquaponics players, the Penang-based company Penang, measuring 1750sq feet, comprising five infused technological approach into its aquaponics layers of aquaponics system. The Cregreen Tech farm by taking its operations indoor. Aquaponics System enables all management activities, including aquaponics farming, to be In the early stages of its inception, the company performed through automation. One of the has undergone three R&D phases to implement mechanisms, sensor system, is used to monitor the right system, for three years. To protect itself temperature, humidity and air pressure. from intellectual property (IP) infringements issues, the company has patented its aquaponics system With the automation on aquaponics farming, CTSB for IP rights. The system was then conceived using is no longer managing the water flow manually. best practices from the United Kingdom as its In the event that the water flow is disrupted, the business model. system will be able to increase the flow or vice versa. The indoor farming method is a combination of aquaculture, which is growing fish and other However, in the incident of an overflow, the system aquatic animals, and hydroponics, which is will automatically stop and the farmers will be cultivating plants without soil. Aquaponics uses alerted by the alarm system to make immediate these two in a symbiotic combination where plants corrective actions. Adequate water conduction is are fed with the aquatic animals’ discharge. The important to prevent flood that destroy vegetables third participant is microbes that first converts and fish. 4 CREGREEN TECH SDN BHD Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Sustainability Cregreen Tech Aquaponics System is different from the existing aquaponics system whereby vegetables and fish are placed in different parts. This method could also reduce potential algae growth with the implementation of a clean water system. Fish are the obvious source of ammonia since their waste is the eventual fuel that feeds any aquaponics system. In that aspect, the level of ammonia in the water is being monitored thoroughly with a sensor. The optimal ammonia level for fish is less than 1.0 ppm. Accurate ammonia level could assist the farmers to prevent excessive ammonia production channeled into the water. This move also lessens the possibility of fish death due to high ammonia production in the aquaponics tank. Cregreen Tech Aquaponics System is also equipped with advanced filtering system to ensure the water flowing from fish tank to vegetable is clean. This is important to prevent algae growth, which is a natural enemy in the aquaponics system. Cregreen Tech Aquaponics System also includes the installation of the right grow-lights, intended to replace sunlight which is needed for photosynthesis. The right grow-light will help the plants to form its nutrients and resulting in proper growth for indoor farming. There are different types of lighting involved according to the needs of different plants. As an example, for green plants, a combination of red and blue lights is used to expedite the plants’ growth. Meanwhile, red light is responsible for making plants bloom and produce fruit. CREGREEN TECH SDN BHD 5 Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Sustainability Getting the Best from Aquaponics Innovation Among the species of vegetables that grow well in workforce to only one employee compared aquaponics system is the baby plants such as pok to conventional farming which needs three choy, lettuce, kelp, broccoli and cauliflower. The employees. short planting time for these vegetables allows the farmers to reap immediate returns at a cheaper In this aquaponics system, the water is recirculated. cost. Run-off water that plants do not absorb will be recaptured. Every bit of water is reused over and The fish used in the aquaponics system are over again, an impossibility in traditional, soil-based freshwater fish, with tilapia and catfish being most agriculture. Since it is recirculated and recycled, popular due to their resistance towards diverse the water never leaves the aquaponics system. water conditions, and they grow fast. Apart from This ultimately reduces water consumption by 30% that, the company reaps a side income from the compared to conventional soil planting. fishes reared in the aquaponics farming when they reached their maturity stage at five months. CTSB offers installation package of the whole system to farmers who are interested in using this In essence, Cregreen Tech Aquaponics System is new approach. Additionally, for those who opted an indoor farming to grow vegetables and rear fish for the royalty system, a supervisor from CTSB will throughout the year. Natural disasters risks such be assigned to assist the farmers for three years. as flood, landslide and aquaponics pests could be This is to facilitate the knowledge transfer while reduced since the farming is performed indoors. ensuring farmers are able to comprehend the system. Moreover, Cregreen Tech Aquaponics System is able to increase the production output by four times compared to conventional soil-based agriculture. In addition, this aquaponics system introduced by CTSB is able to reduce excess 6 CREGREEN TECH SDN BHD Revolutionising Aquaponics System for Greater Impact to Business Sustainability Expanding Business Beyond the Norm CTSB’s indoor farm in Perai serves as a demo site products for end-user consumption. On the other to demonstrate the advantages of Cregreen Tech hand, spoiled vegetables will be used to produce Aquaponics system to their potential investors, organic soil while fish bone will be used as fish both for domestic and international markets, who feed. are interested in venturing into the aquaponics business. Interior design service will also be offered under the new company to enable Cregreen Tech Currently, CTSB managed to attract a company Aquaponics System to be installed in customers’ called Fintec Global Berhad, through a joint- homes, according to their preferences. This service venture with Cregreen, a new company established can extend the Cregreen’s chain of products under CTSB. Supplied with an investment of derived from the aquaponics system revolution RM3.5 million
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