99: Dr. George Brooks on AgTech and Aquaponics
Founder and President of the NxT Horizon Group, Dr. George Benjamin Brooks Jr. holds an earned Ph.D., in Wildlife and Fisheries from the School of Renewable Natural Resources at the University of Arizona and is an established social, environmental, economic and political leader and business consultant. With the motto of “AgTech for the Real World” NxT Horizon focuses on bioenergy development in Africa, and the development and application of new urban farming technologies (aquaponics) to solve real world social, environmental and economic problems.
He currently is Vice Chair of the South Mountain Village Planning Committee part of the Phoenix Planning Commission and served as Vice Chair of the Plan Phoenix Committee that wrote the recently passed Phoenix General Plan. An active member of the Board of Directors for the Phoenix Green Chamber of Commerce he was recently elected Vice President of the organization. He is also a member of the board of the national Aquaponics Association and America’s Tilapia Alliance.
Come listen to Dr. Brooks as he helps us understand more about aquaponics and our opportunities with it. He talks about…
- How he got started working with aquaponics at a very young age
- His path to become a marine biologist
- Aquaponics in a drought prone areas like Phoenix
- Why fish farms did not work in Arizona in the 1980’s
- Why fish farms really can work in urban areas
- The “Diffusion of Innovation Curve”
- How Aquaponics is like the Solar Market
- What is next with Aquaponics
- What AgTech is and how it affects our lives
- Why we need to understand a Circular Economy
- What is happening in the City of Phoenix that calls out for farmers of all types to be a part.
George’s recommended reads:
Small-Scale Aquaponics Food Production by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization – available for free here!
Who Knew It Grew From Poo?
Where can you find Dr. Brooks?
Nxthorizon.com
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Great podcast. Thank you! I listened to this while weeding in my garden. I did not write down, and now I don’t recall the event name or date in November that Dr. Brooks mentioned regarding an Aquaponics convention. Can I get a link to that info?