Some Integrated Farming prototypes such as the IF&WMS includes an advanced derivative of hydroponics which is called aquaponics. The aquaponic systems is a pivotal part of the IF&WMS and links fish-farming with crop production as well being a final step in purifying the waste water and animal waste. “night-soil“ is the term often used to describe how the Chinese, using their age-old of practice of putting human and farm waste into the fishponds, pioneered one of the original integrated farming approaches. This ancient Chinese practice has evolved as part of a modern movement to promote effective integrated farming practices as an alternative to prevailing approaches of agribusiness which are seen in an increasingly critical light due to their unsustainable environmental and social impacts.

In modern Integrated Farming Systems, the addition of semi-processed animal and plant waste fertilizes the pond itself triggering the development of food sources for the fish without adding any specific feed for the fish, creating mineralized water in the process. This water can then be used to both fertilize and irrigate crops in a process the Chinese call Fertigation.

lBecause this process of aquaponics, which is sometimes called Chinese Ecologica Agriculture (as well as Integrated Farming Systems), can be done with minimal pumps and hardware, it may be superior to prevailing aquaponics practices in the US. Most aquaponics systems in the US now use complex, energy intensive greenhouse systems. The compexity of these systems may explain why so many are struggling. If we can demonstrate how IFS economically viable as an alternative to resource intensive modern agricultural practices then we of course can set the stage for a viable alternative to existing agribusiness practices which focus on large monoculture farms that consume huge of amounts of inputs and create equally huge amounts of pollution that impacts the surrounding environment and in many cases reduces the quality of life for the people in that region. There is some debate as to whether this aquaponics approach only works really well in tropical or subtropical environments because the fishpond and the digester may be affected by the cold season. However Dr Mae Wan Ho reports that the Chinese do actually have temperate climate version of this system in use which also does seem to work - albeit at a lower intensity. and can operate on three levels in the IF&WMS:

1. In the berms surrounding the ponds whereby the liners of the fishponds only reach a certain level allow water to seep out into the berms. The berms are precisely designed so that they allow the plant/crop roots to penetrate deep enough to capture the mineralized water seeping out of the pond into the berm. This of course makes it possible to grow plants on the berm without irrigation or fertilization.
2. In greenhouses that instead of using conventional greenhouse hydroponic systems, instead pump out mineralized pond water and then allow plants to grow in the water
3. Using devices called “floating restorers” developed by John Todd of Ocean Arks International that float above the pond basically operating similar to the greenhouse system but without the greenhouse and the berm system without the soil and the berm.