TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan -- In line with Governor Manuel Mamba's advocacy to have aqua-culture production in Cagayan, some 50 department heads, capitol employees and farmers have started their training on food production using hydroponics and aquaponics systems.

The training started on August 12 at the Cagayan Farm School and Agri-tourism Center in Anquiray, Amulung, according to provincial agriculturist Pearlita P. Mabasa.

Hydroponic is the cultivation of vegetables using water and not soil in the process.

Aquaponic on the other hand is a process of cultivating fish and vegetables together in water. That is, the wastes produced by fishes become fertilizers for vegetables in what the agriculturist describes as a 2-in-1 food production.

This is the cultivation of vegetables and of fish at the same time, Mabasa stressed.

Fish like tilapia and catfish provide the extra nutrients that vegetables need. It also has a nitrogen cycle that will benefit both vegetables and fish.

"There is no need for a large area of land here; in small spaces you will have vegetables and fish. Only water and nutrient solution will be used here," she said.

It will only take 3-4 weeks from planting to harvesting vegetables such as pechay, lettuce, kangkong, tomato, melon and cucumber.

Meanwhile, it takes 3-4 months to harvest tilapia or catfish.