Increasing income from the rice production system

High dependence on rice alone is not only risky for the farmer, but often unsustainable. Common to the organic approach of achieving a sustainable rice production system is to diversify the sources of income from the system. This is done by adopting other enterprises which are closely linked and complementary with the rice enterprise. This will eventually ensure that any risks that may affect the rice enterprise are well-buffered by the other enterprises. Then the total income received by the farmer will not be heavily affected.

a. Crop diversification especially in upland systems. By introducing leguminous crops as intercrops or rotation crops, or high value vegetable crops, such as garden eggs, okra, pepper, the farmer has extra crop to sell. The farmer should, therefore, carefully select the crops to introduce in the system. As a guide, the farmer should select crops that can be used as food for the household and any excess is able to be sold for income.

b. Introducing fish into the rice production system especially in the lowland systems, which are prone to flooding. A rice-fish system is an integrated rice field where fish is grown concurrently or alternately with rice. This system allows for the simultaneous production of fish and rice, without the reduction of the rice yield, while providing an additional source of income to the farmer. The field may be deliberately stocked with fish or the fish may enter the field with the irrigation water, depending on the locally available species. This system is especially suited for rice production systems where farmers are not using chemicals.

Where water control is good, fish should be deliberately left to grow and is harvested just before the fields dry up. Research has also shown that performance of rice is significantly improved by the rice-fish polyculture compared to the rice monoculture. In principle, as long as there is enough water in a rice field, it can serve as a fish culturing system.

However, a rice field is by design intended for rice and conditions may not always be optimum for fish, for example whereas rice may survive long periods of standing water, fish may not. Thus, there is a need to make some modifications to rice fields in order to accommodate fish culture. This can be done in many ways, for example:

• Increasing dike (bund) height - Rice field embankments are typically low and narrow since most rice varieties do not require deep water. To make the rice field more suitable for fish, the height of the embankment needs, in most  cases, to be increased to a height of about 40-50 cm. This is sufficient to prevent most fish from jumping over.
• Provision of weirs or screens - To prevent loss of the fish stock with flowing water, farmers install screens or weirs across the path of the water flow, depending on the local materials available e.g. bamboo slats, a basket,  a piece of fish net material or any well perforated piece of sheet metal.
• Provision of drains - The common practise for managing water levels is to temporarily break a portion of the embankment to let the water in or out at a  convenient point. It is advisable to provide a more permanent way of conveying water in or out. Types of water outlets that can be installed include bamboo tubes, hollowed out logs or metal pipes.
• Fish refuges - A fish refuge is a deeper area provided for the fish within a rice field. This can be in the form of channels or several channels or ponds. The refuge will provide a place for the fish in case water in the field dries up or is not deep enough. It also serves to facilitate the fish harvest at the end of the rice season or to contain fish for further culture while the rice is harvested.