Founded: 2013

Farm Location: Weeksville, Brooklyn 

Farm Details: Hydroponics, aquaponics

Example of Crops Grown: Collard greens, turnips, lemongrass, French sorrel, watercress, herbs, plants native to Africa

Mission: Practice and promote aquaponics as a sustainable farming method that mitigates the impact of climate change, and increases food security for New York City. Spread the knowledge and skills required to practice aquaponics farming by educating children and adults of all racial and socio-economic backgrounds.

Sustainability Backstory: While most urban farms in New York City use just hydroponics to grow their food, Oko Farms is the only outdoor hydroponics-aquaponics farm in the city. They raise fish in a closed water system. The plants that are growing act as a filter for fish excrement, and benefit from their fertilization. Along with aeroponics, aquaponic farming methods are useful for an area that has water sourcing issues. Because the entire system is a closed loop, the farm saves a large amount of water. 

Oko Farms was founded by Yemi Amu, who grew up in Nigeria. After working in culinary and nutrition she saw a need to build a farm that addressed the nutritional needs of the community. In an interview with Chefs for Impact, Yemi discussed how she wanted to introduce healthier food to her Brooklyn community. “Where I come from - Nigeria - poor people eat vegetables. There is nothing special about it, it’s common and everyone can eat it. Here, in the US it’s different. So, I started wondering how I could make it feel normal to them? Together with the social workers I work with, we thought gardening would be a great way to connect these people to food. By learning how to grow produce, it would demystify their perception. I started growing food because I wanted to teach my clients how to do it for themselves” (Chessé, 2021). They offer workshops and intensives to students, individuals, and businesses to teach people about aquaponics and hydroponics as well as collaborating with organizations to build out custom aquaponic systems such as Universe City NYC一Brownsville and East New York’s first urban farm.

Oko Farms incorporates many plants native to Africa into their crops including jute leaves (also known as Ewédú in Yoruba), sweet potato greens (which are popular in Liberia), okra, ugu (fruited pumpkin), and sorghum. They’ve even successfully grown rice!