Food

Traditionally the target size of a food reserve was determined on the basis of the cereal requirements of the vulnerable population for the time required following the recognition of an imminent food emergency until additional supplies could be made available for distribution, i.e. the lead time. For the purposes of calculation it was typically assumed that the cereal requirement was equivalent to some 160-175 kg per person per year and that a lead time of three months would be required to organise and receive additional supplies. The resultant size for the reserve was held static at this level until circumstances were considered to have changed and the calculation was repeated. This was usually only after several years. Countries which adopted this approach included: Ethiopia (with an initial reserve size of 180,000 tonnes), Mozambique (60,000 tonnes), and Tanzania (100,000 tonnes).

As an alternative some countries based the size of their reserve on market demand, for example Zambia determined the target size for its reserve at an estimated three months’ market demand, equivalent to 2.0-2.5 million 90 kg bags, i.e. 180-225,000 tonnes. While Kenya (3.0 million 90 kg bags), Malawi (180,000 tonnes) and Zimbabwe (936,000 tonnes) decided on their reserve stock needs using more pragmatic assessments.

The above methods used for determining the size of reserve stocks assumed that the consumption pattern of the affected population would remain constant and that the, so called, food gap, i.e. the difference between availability (production and opening stocks) and consumption requirements, would be filled by a combination of stock reduction and imports. However, in times of food shortage people change their eating habits, by switching to alternative foods, e.g. cassava and other root crops instead of maize, or, in the extreme, by eating less¹ thereby reducing the demand for the staple food. There is thus, a tendency to over-estimate the size of the food shortfall and consequently the size of the reserve required to cope with it. To avoid this pitfall due account needs to be taken of the likely extent to which vulnerable households will switch to alternative foods when determining an appropriate size for the reserve.

Sea Food 

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans. Seafood prominently includes fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Historically, sea mammals such as whales and dolphins have been consumed as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are widely eaten as seafood around the world, especially in Asia (see the category of sea vegetables). In North America, although not generally in the United Kingdom, the term “seafood” is extended to fresh waterorganisms eaten by humans, so all edible aquatic life may be referred to as seafood. For the sake of completeness, this article includes all edible aquatic life.

The harvesting of wild seafood is usually known as fishing or hunting, and the cultivation and farming of seafood is known as aquaculture, or fish farming in the case of fish. Seafood is often distinguished from meat, although it is still animal and is excluded in a strict vegetarian diet. Seafood is an important source of protein in many diets around the world, especially in coastal areas.

        

 

Hydroponics 

Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture, which is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutionsin a water solvent. Terrestrial plants may be grown with only their roots exposed to the mineral solution, or the roots may be supported by an inert medium, such as perlite or gravel.

The nutrients used in hydroponic systems can come from an array of different sources; these can include, but are not limited to, byproduct from fish waste, duck manure, or purchased chemical fertilisers.

Aquaponics

Aquaponics  refers to any system that combines conventional  aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrifying bacteria initially into nitrites and subsequently into nitrates that are utilized by the plants as nutrients. The water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system.

As existing hydroponic and aquaculture farming techniques form the basis for all aquaponic systems, the size, complexity, and types of foods grown in an aquaponic system can vary as much as any system found in either distinct farming discipline.

 

 

 

References:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/w4979e/w4979e0a.htm

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics