Tamra Fakhoorian, co-founder of the ILA said,”We wish to thank em[POWER] for their support in our organization’s formation. Em[POWER] recognizes duckweed’s untapped potential as a high quality protein and starch source for animal feed, bioplastics, fertilizers, and wastewater remediation. Duckweed is a win/win for our global efforts of sustainable aqua-cropping and animal production.”

Ryan Integlia, co-founder of ILA observed, “Many of our members previously worked in the algae arena and when confronted with ongoing issues of harvesting and robustness, discovered the many benefits of duckweed as an alternative. Farmers in several developing countries already grow and harvest duckweed as a part of their integrated farming systems. The time is right for duckweed production to be expanded on a larger scale to remediate the massive nutrient loads in our current waste water systems and produce value-added products for a wide range of applications.”

Duckweed and Wolffia species are the smallest vascular, flowering plants on the planet and are found world-wide with the exception of Antarctica. They are known to double their mass every 24-48 hours, producing up to 60 dry tons per acre in optimal circumstances. Wolffia holds the record for the smallest flowers in the world, only 0.3mm in length.