Sunday, November 20, 2011

How to Grow the Network?

Background
In a recent MSNBC Green Planet piece, (see sep't 25th Blog) Sociologist Alphonse Morales noted that Aquaponics was twenty years away from being a practical food growing technology.  This was because of two factors: a lack of effective business models, and an absence of trained personnel.  The Family Fish Farms Network has a practical solution to both of these issues.

Business Model
Through application of a distributive growing strategy that creates many small (micro) farms located in the urban centers where the majority of the population is centered, we can grow food locally.  We can also present a national brand by controlling the marketing, standards, and training thorough a strong central organization.  The urban micro farms will be locally owned and operated but will be marketed centrally.  This will permit farmers to respond with agility to local consumer demand and it will eliminate the need for costly transport, while also eliminating the cost of a jobber or distributor, thus reducing the cost to the consumer.  It will also assure a supply of high quality protein and organic vegetables if there is a national food distribution problem.  In other words if gives control (sovereignty) and confidence (security) that the food will be nutritious, fresh, and available.


Staff Training
We have a proprietary, highly efficient skills training model, that will permit us to provide focused performance based skills training, that will enable us to teach anyone to effectively manage and operate one of our network farms.  Our skills certification program will allow us to provide a generation of competent aquaponic technicians who are capable of running operating any farm in the network.  The Network will also apply sophisticated process control methods to assure quality.  We will also apply technology to simplify and manage daily plant operations.  Our centralized management system will support each urban micro farm through accounting, technical performance, and inventory control.  Central ordering and national network operations through cloud (internet) connectivity will be a universal constant.