THE traditional Asian practice of raising fish in rice paddies in making a comeback in the lush rice fields of West Java, Indonesia and Thailand.
of fish The technique of farming is the simultaneous production by and rice in the same flooded fields. The 200-year-old system was abandoned many countries because of the green revolution's prescriptions of high-yielding, monoculture varieties that required the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and double and triple-cropping of rice. Although productive these practices reduce soil fertility and are expensive for farmers to maintain.
an expert notes that fish eat algae, rice pollen, weeds and insects while also fertilizing the soil more effectively than commercial products. Fish also reduce pests by eating leafhoppers, stem borers, and aphids and lower the incidence of several rice, diseases. Rice-fish farming also creates a reliable source of protein for the farmers, offsetting the decreased availability of wild fish in many countries.
Rice fish culture can actually increase the yields of rice (up to 25 to 30%) while providing farmers with extra income. According to experts, this is important in areas such as northeastern Thailand, where the farmers are marginalized, cultivate under difficult conditions and find the cost of pesticides and fertilizers financially burdensome