Aquaponi Inc.

This interview details Aquaponi Inc., an indoor farming company based in Japan. The interview is with Kengo Hamada, Founder & CEO of Aquaponi Inc..

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What is the origin story of Aquaponi Inc.?

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Aquponi Inc. is a company dedicated to spreading the practice of circular agriculture through aquaponics in Japan. "Aquponi" is a shortened version of "aquaponics," a naming practice common in Japan where terms are often abbreviated for ease of remembrance, much like 'smartphone' becomes 'sumaho' and 'convenience store' turns into 'konbini'. We adopted this name for our company to encourage the same familiarity with aquaponics.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Aquaponi Inc. in the future?

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One of the main challenges we face is enhancing the sustainability of aquaponics. This includes reducing risks for resources such as energy costs and improving the unit price of our products through branding.

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What is unique about Aquaponi Inc. compared to competitors?

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There are several aspects:

• We leverage technology for operational processes, centralized management of growth/environmental/work data, and have systems in place for remote production management support through automated report generation. This data is also utilized for value chain construction.

• We have high industry recognition and numerous business partnerships.

• We continuously invest in research and development, which includes:

1. Highly productive production systems with patents already secured [Patent No. 6739709, Patent No. 7131864], and a pending patent application in the USA [17/899,932].
2. Quantifying environmental impact reduction through the development of mathematical models for carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water material balance.
3. Production of sturgeon, shrimp, rainbow trout, tomatoes, and strawberries.

• In the past two years, we have designed 40 different types of farms and have secured the best sources of materials and equipment globally.

• We offer nationwide construction and maintenance services for farms.

• We operate a school where one can learn aquaponics, offering practical training before and after implementation (with over 300 graduates).

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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Currently, we have a team of 10 employees.

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for Aquaponi Inc.?

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Our goal is to conduct large-scale demonstrations of aquaponics in Japan, paving the way for further adoption of this sustainable practice.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Aquaponi Inc.?

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Website: https://aquaponics.co.jp

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aquponi

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