Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

One man's ridiculous restriction is some special interest's sensible solution...

I am reevaluating my position but I am still excited about AP and still excited about my plans.

The problem is that I feel I am missing the boat. Three years ago I thought I was about to build the first truly fully integrated commercial AP system in Australia. Now I can not do that and I am not sure if I will be able to do the second the way things are going.

Like I said I am really excited about the possibilities of AP its just the prospects that are getting me down at the moment. There is only so long I can afford to put the rest of my life on hold before starting.

I have said no to four other opportunities over the last 4 years (one of them AP related) because I had already given my word to the team I have been working with. Now I am not sure what to do.

My options are:

-wait;
-start again; or
-do something else.

Doing something... would seem better than doing nothing...

Yes. Which would eliminate option 1.

You might have tried this but I think a way around might be to go at it from a "Research & Development" angle?
There are grants available but they take time and are often hard to find.
Just a thought.
I feel your pain!

Good Luck

There are a number of lines of research that I have done and more that I will be doing. The best grants are those available through Commercialisation Australia. They have been very supportive but they and two other departments have said that they want to see a small scale system up and operating first. By small I mean around 2000m2.

In the absence of any other information to the contrary I believe that I have to refinance the the project. The good news is that a number of people and institutions that said they would not be interested in investing in the first system but would in subsequent systems have now said that they are interested in the first system because of a few things that have changed in the market place. Specifically the ongoing water issues, Federal Government policy aim to increase food production by 30% and Sate Government policy aim by 100%.

Whats more they have said that the scale of my initial pitch concerned them, ie it wasn't big enough. Based on the instructions that followed that revelation I am in the process of costing larger systems.

Sounds like you're heading down a better track Stuart...

Time will tell. If this one ends in a bluff I'll either climb it or find another way.