It’s hard to answer very general questions about aquaponics because so much depends on your physical setup, the size of your operation, and what crops/fish you intend to grow. As far as plants, it is widely understood that aquaponics provide ideal growing conditions, extended growing seasons, and even the advantage of vertical setups, but lettuce is still going to grow faster than cauliflower, no matter where it’s planted, so a specific annual production number won’t really tell us anything about relative yield across the board. It’s important to remember, as well, that aquaponics is a relatively recent specialty in modern food culture, and there haven’t been a large number of studies done that provide comparable numbers, especially taking into account the wide variations in system setups. And let’s not forget the fish: for many, production of fish is more of a side benefit than their primary focus, but the volume and value of fish as a food source should not be discounted.
The details of aquaponics setups can vary by almost as many people as there are building them and as many different crops are grown, from radishes to banana trees. Overall, the most common setups include Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Media Beds, and Deep Water Culture (DWC). Tall or deep crops such as fruits and root vegetables generally do better in media beds, while leafy greens thrive in NFT setup, so those systems need to be evaluated separately. Despite all these caveats, there have been many efforts to pinpoint the advantages of aquaponics over soil farming and even hydroponics. One typical estimate is that aquaponic methods produce about 8 times more food per acre compared to traditional soil agriculture. For some crops, that number might be closer to 25 times, while for some very slow growing crops, it could drop to 4 times or even less.
