FISH CULTURE IN RICE FIELDS

GUNARDI SIGIT

Introduction

• Cultivating rice and fish together has been centuries old tradition in some parts of southeast Asia.

• this beneficial cultivation system was gradually abandoned due to population pressures, decreasing stocks of wild fish and the "Green Revolution" which emphasized high-input monoculture using high-yield rice varieties, pesticides, and herbicides

• During the 1980s and early 1990s, rice-fish culture as managed cultivation systems experienced a revival

• Rice-fish culture can actually increase rice yields (up to 10% in some cases) while providing farmers with an important source of protein and extra income. Implementation is relatively inexpensive and low-risk.

• Fish culture in paddy “legowo” method

Fish culture in paddy “legowo” methodThe advantages of this method

are :1. Some alleys allow many

border rows and as it is well known that the border rows always better than others.

2. Some alleys allow some opened space which can be used for raising fish.

3. It’s easier to control weeds, pest and do fertilizing more effective because fertilizer can be concentrated just only in between two row of rice plants.

Potential advantages of fish-rice culture :

• Additional food and income in the form of fish.• Control of mollusks and insects which are

harmful to rice.• Reduced risk of crop failure resulting from

integration of rice and fish.• Continued flooding of the paddy and rooting

activity of fish help control weeds.• Fish stir up soil nutrients making them more

available for rice. This increases rice production.

Potential disadvantages of rice-fish culture :

• Pesticide use must be restricted.• Rice-fish culture may require more water than rice culture alone.• Trenches must be dug about 40 to 50 cm below the paddy bottom.

In many places, this makes drainage difficult. Rice yield per area is usually reduced because paddy area used for trenches is not planted with rice.

• Fish produced with the system are often small and total production is lower than what could be produced in a pond of equal size.

• Because rice production is seasonal, fish are harvested at the same time by every farmer and marketing may be a problem. Consequently, rice-fish culture may be more appropriate for small-scale paddies where fish are consumed by the producing family.

• Because rice paddies may be irrigated from a common water supply, it is difficult to ensure that water used to supply the paddy will be pesticide-free. This may make rice-fish culture impractical.

• Substantial investment in fish and rice paddy modification increases risk to farmers.

• Requires more labor than rice culture alone.

Land preparation

• strong and impervious bunds - the height of the dry bund should be at least 25 cm, but a height of 60 cm is recommended

• It is useful to have trenches and sumps to be used as fish refuges in rice fish culture plots.

• The width of the trench should take into consideration the size of the fish harvested - the width usually varies between 50 and 180 cm and the depth from 30 to 90 cm.

• Sumps, or larger pits, are usually provided in the plot, for fish to take refuge in times of need and also to facilitate harvest

1. inlet2. trench3. paddy planting4. outlet /excess water5. drain outlet

Fish management

• Management activities for fish culture in rice paddies include stocking, fertilization, feeding, water quality control, harvesting, and, restocking. Practices used depend on location, fish species, and numbers of fish stocked

Rice fish culture Practice at Farmer

• Farmers in Cianjur, in general, cultivate rice-fish culture in three ways. First, stocking fish when land preparation is done while rice seedlings is not ready or still in the nursery. Second way is stocking fish incorporate with paddy. Third way is stocking fish after plating paddy-paddy which water is still available for 45 days (definitely not enough for planting paddy).

For the first and second ways the farmers usually stock fish (fry size = 1-3 cm) in the paddy field for 25 - 30 days, and harvest fingerling size (3-5 cm). For the third way, farmers stock fish (fry size = 1-3 cm) in paddy field for about 45 days and harvest 5-8 cm size. There are two kind of fish usually cultured in this area : Cyprinus carpio (common

carp) and Tilapia.

• THE PROFIT FROM FISH COULD COVER AT LEAST 40 % OF TOTAL PADDY COST PRODUCTION.

Recommendation for Applying Asian Experiences in Africa

• 1. Establish area that match to ideal condition for rice fish culture

• 2. Establish extension approaches

• 3. Fish Supply and Market Guarantee

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION