There’s lush green lettuce, plump tomatoes and fragrant basil all growing in a bed of water in a 2, 000-sq-ft (about 186 square meters) greenhouse in Toronto, the largest city of Canada.

It’s all part of a pilot project an urban farmer is hoping will help showcase the benefits of a waste-free system which combines aquaculture and hydroponics. He’s hoping the large-scale commercial aquaponics farm he built nearly two months ago will help persuade others into making the switch from conventional farming.

“We’re hoping to get connected with more farming groups in Ontario and help them access aquaponics and sort of get involved and start looking at it as another solution to food security,” project manager Evan Bell explained.