Summary

Soils are increasingly experiencing a loss of nutrients, with nutrients leaching and running off into lakes and seas. Peckas Naturodlingar has invested in an industry that combines the cultivation of tomatoes with the rearing of fish in a closed system. The nutritious water from the fish streams down to the tomatoes that take on the nutrients. The clean water is then led back to the fish.

This operation ensures that nutrients and water are used in a most efficient way, and the system doesn’t lead to any waste. The support from the Swedish rural development programme was used to build a greenhouse that extends over 4000m2. The new greenhouse allowed the beneficiary upscale its tomato production.

Results

In January 2018, Peckas delivered its first batch of tomatoes to grocery stores in Härnösand. The whole production of tomatoes in 2018 has been booked by the distributor company, Grönsakshuset.

100% of the nutrient water from the fish farm is circulated into a bio-bed/plant bed and then back to the fish farm. This reduces the need for water and ensures that all nutrients in the water are used in the tomato cultivation. Instead of becoming a waste stream, the fish farm becomes an input for tomato cultivation.