Ambassador Andrew Young launches aquaponics farm project

Berndt Petersen
·2 min read

Developers of a new farm in Clayton County say they will grow tons of food with no fertilizer, no pesticides, and almost no water.

Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen was there for the groundbreaking along Mount Zion Road.

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Ambassador Andrew Young has spent a lifetime making change for the better. At age 92, he says the best is yet to come.

“I said if I get into this, it might get me into heaven!” Young said.

With the turn of a few shovels of dirt, the Ambassador and Clayton County leaders broke ground Thursday on a local project that aims to feed people worldwide.

“Ambassador Young and I started on this journey several years ago with a simple idea: How to feed the hungry,” the Andrew J. Young Foundation’s Gaurav Kumar said.

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The site along Mount Zion Road in Jonesboro will be the home of a $12 million, 70-thousand-square-foot indoor farm.

It’s a method called aquaponics. They aim to grow tons and tons of leafy greens with no added fertilizer, no pesticides, and almost no water.

It features tanks full of fish, that do what fish do in the water, which serves as a natural fertilizer for the plants. The plants then send filtered water back into the system.

The project is a team effort including Forever Young Aquaponics, the Andrew J. Young Foundation, and Clayton County.

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Ambassador Young says they’ll put food on plates across the county and the globe.

“We’ve got to be more creative and we’ve got to be more energetic about dealing with problems,” Ambassador Young said.

Opening day is expected around the first of next year.

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