Aquaponics is going to be more important in the future because our natural systems are anthropogenically forced towards increasing unpredictability. Here in the UK its more and more common to have drought, floods, storms, deep frosts and disease. Weather patterns err more towards the extreme, and our agricultural systems are suffering.
The increased control that closed farming systems give us can protect crops from blight, rain damage, frosts, drought. This complex and unpredictable future poses new challenges to agriculture that highlight the importance of developing systems like RAS and aquaponics. Aquaponics permits the farmer to be more efficient with water, to control light-levels, heat, and nutrition, and to protect crops from the elements.
Nonetheless, it is deeply troubling that we are screwing up our natural systems so badly that we have to resort to developing ‘bubbles’ of stability in order to ensure our food security.
Bristol Fish Project 
Nope its me being a jargon junkie – RAS recirculating aquaculture systems – one of the myriad of terms used when talking about aquaponics-like systems 🙂
“Nonetheless, it is deeply troubling that we are screwing up our natural systems so badly that we have to resort to developing ‘bubbles’ of stability in order to ensure our food security.”
Be very useful for when we inevitably start colonising the solar system though. 🙂
Very well said. Growing allotment veg in the UK is proving increasingly tricky with increasingly unpredictable weather and diseases; fruit tree yields are erratic too. The arctic meltdown these last few years promises even more weather instability. Unfortunately, we can no longer rely on a benign environment to support us.