Rice-Fish Coculture for Environmental, Economic, and Cultural Well-Being

Rice is one of the staple grains that feeds the modern world, and as such holds a very important place in agricultural systems internationally. Because rice is such an important dietary element , particularly in Asiatic countries, it has also become a foundational cultural component. As populations across the globe expand, however, the demand for rice has increased drastically, and while technology and modern farming methods have resulted in higher yields of rice, this comes at a severe environmental and sociocultural costs.

Rice paddies are a significant source of several environmental pollutants, including pesticides and fertilizers. Industrialized methods of growing rice have compounded this problem by pushing out more traditional, sustainable practices. Interestingly, some of these ‘old’ ways of growing rice can have similar yields to modern cropping systems while utilizing far fewer externally sourced inputs, resulting in less pollutants exiting the system and becoming problematic in the surrounding environment (Xie et. al, 2010).  This could be extremely useful information given current environmental concerns, as well as providing an avenue for cultural retention of traditional systems.

Specifically, a form of time-honored rice cultivation known as ‘rice-fish coculture’ has been studied as a way of reducing the environmental impact of rice paddy cultivation while maintaining high yields in order to provide economic security. Additionally, the reintroduction of rice-fish cocultures offers the opportunity for cultural revival and diet diversification. For example, rice-fish coculture was practiced in China for thousands of years and was recently designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) praised for its ecological, economic, and social functions. (Koohafkan, P. & dela Cruz, n.d). This system provides an excellent opportunity to combine traditional knowledge and practices in a way that will increase the sustainability and viability of small, rural rice paddy operations.