How This Aquaponics Farmer Is Reinventing Urban Agriculture

There are so many barriers in place when it comes to growing food in cities, but education and lack of access to space are the hardest to overcome. Yemi Amu has dedicated her life as a farmer to solving this problem, by starting the only Aquaponics farm in NYC. Oko Farms in Brooklyn is both a working farm which provides fresh food to surrounding neighborhoods, while also actively engaging the public in education on how to grow food for yourself in urban environments.

Women of the Earth is a new show on PBS Terra, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles like farmers and shepherds, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change.

Original Production Funding Provided by
National Science Foundation - Grant No. 2120006

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This episode of Women of the Earth is licensed exclusively to YouTube.

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[NawDawgTheRazor]

The world needs more people like this awesome lady. She’s the face of change.

[yvonnejackson]

There are places in the world where the same land has been sustainably farmed for thousands of years and is still productive and there are places that farming methods have destroyed the soil in a few decades. Let’s have more of this lady’s kind of thinking.

[hawtnsweet]

So, so, so so, proud of you Yemi. From one Nigerian woman to another - God bless you.

[gozer]

One of the best explanations of aquaponics that I've seen. Definitely need more people like her.

[uniworkhorse]

The natural light in this doc is INSANE. Props to the crew 😲
Love Yemi's story and energy, seeing people push relatively simpler "lower-tech" urban agri is so cool!

[toniaannaday]

The water-saving aspects of aquaponics vs. traditional soil methods are particularly interesting.

[beartheburn]

Im currently studying bfsc and i swear you explained aquaponics in 10 min than my prof could ever explain in 3 hrs

[jjdawg]

We really need more people like Yemi in the world!!

[latriciacagle]

We have aquaponic farmers here in the desert southwest. It reduces water usage which is important in a drought prone area. There was a movement to transform swimming pools into aquaponic systems. However, most of the systems here use tilapia which provides another source of food.

[THEESNFLWR]

you know what.. she's right! if she can do it, i can do it, YOU can do it. absolutely love this. representation matters not only for our children/teens but us adults too! this is the first time ive EVER seen a black farmer ❤️ i feel inspired and proud.

[NicO-cmxo]

This lady is what we need to inspire all todo pocket farming in every urban areas; We need Yemi Amu and OKO farm movement to go global. Thanks Yemi for sharing your journey and knowledge and taking ownership of self-sustainable food security.

[b_uppy]

I am typically against aquaponics because it is impractical, ie heavy reliance on plastics. Here it is sensible, as well as done sensibly.
She is in a land (soil) poor area so utilizing a materials-intensive system makes sense. This is because this provides a quality food that doesn't travel or store well in an area in need of it.
Her use of koi and goldfish is brilliant --because I like them :).

There could be more rooftop farmers in large cities. It uses residual heat from the building to the benefit of plants, adds roofing durability by reducing degradation from the sun, reduces air pollution, assists in reducing stormdrain strain, reduces heat island effect, etc.

The biggest trick to executing this idea is finding lightweight materials, as well as having reinforced rooftops to handle extra weight loads.

Great video

[SuzetteMorganStudio]

I'm so glad to see more innovative, practical, and sustainable projects like this thriving in so many different environments ❤

[Pougie]

I've also seen people use a grey water system with auqaponics, which adds an extra layer of eco-friendliness to this. This video made me wonder if what the Aztecs were doing with their lake system in Tenochtitlan qualifies as an early example of auqaponics. (I just looked it up... it says the Aztecs were practicing this in 1150 AD, which they called chinampas)

[ThePongox]

This women makes me cry😭 so much Energy - She is amazing!!!

[eaterofcrayons]

Yemi is at the root of the problem, solving global scale issues with smart thinking and a robust understanding! So much respect for her and what she is doing

[gardenjoy]

The Women of the Earth is a nice series of wonderful women, who contribute to a better earth. Appreciate their insights and work. Appreciate you sharing.

[differentgenx]

Such an inspirational and lovely lady - the world needs more people like her

[AmandaComeauCreates]

Im already grown up, but if I could do it again Id eanna grow up to be just like Yemi. So admirable

[francesco]

I teach aquaponics and the presenter summed it up into a simple, understandable form that even kids can understand! I absolutely love this!