ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS APPLIED TO AQUACULTURE IN DIFFERENT MODELS AND PRODUCTION SCALES

• Grant number: 23/15376-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Fishery Resources and Fishery Engineering - Aquaculture
• Principal Investigator: Maria Célia Portella
• Grantee: Leonardo Castilho de Barros
• Host Institution: Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The growing demand for food products accessible to all economic groups and environmentally friendly puts pressure on current and future markets. Furthermore, in the same proportion as there is a growing need to feed the population on increasingly larger scales, the demand for food free of contaminants, low costs and with socio-environmental responsibility is growing. In this context, the present study aims to characterize four aquaculture models at different production scales and verify their economic-financial and environmental viability. The evaluation of the proposed systems will have a gradual increase in complexity, where, in the laboratory, aquaponic production will be evaluated between lambari (Astyanax lacustris) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) on small and medium scales (Phases 1 and 2) and in an extensive production environment, Farming of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and marine shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) will be evaluated (Phase 3). Comparisons will be made between activities that use photovoltaic panels and automatic feeders in their operating routines. To this end, systems analyze will involve national teaching and research institutions and aquaculture producers in Brazil and Ecuador. The investment structures, costing, financial and profitability indicators, and economic sensitivity analyzes will be based on methodologies already applied and validated in different economic feasibility studies of aquaculture projects. The analyzes that will highlight the bottlenecks of environmental impacts will consider the inventories for production related to each ton of fish and/or shrimp. Finally, it is understood that, among the aspects that can be highlighted in the application of this proposal are: innovation and technological advancement, economic and community development, food security, sustainability and environmental impact and decision making.