Often confused with Small Scale enterprises, Smallholder farms are smaller, at 2ha (5 acres) or less, and are focused on feeding a family. The owners can, however, sell excess product to market. Though the data. Is mixed, the millions of farms using this farming model are said to produce up to 30% (perhaps more) of the food in the world. Oddly enough, despite the success of this collection of related business models and farm types worldwide including aquaculture, such farms are rarely seen in the United States.
As witnessed by the growing numbers of food deserts, since before the pandemic of 2020, urban areas in the United States have suffered from the lack of access to healthy food. Though efforts to grow food in the cities, high land prices, low land availability and many related factors have often inhibit the development of vibrant urban food systems using the traditional small scale “commercial” business model.
This study examines if a smallholder business model using aquaponics as the food source, could be applied successfully to urban backyards in the United States to enhance local food security.