To Safeguard Century-old Rice-fish Farming Practice

摘要

"... dig six mu of land into a pond ... put 2,000 fry into the pond ...sell the rest in the market," wrote ancient Chinese scholar Fan Li about 400 BC in The Canon for Fish Culture, the oldest known fish culture document. Rice-fish culture system has been in existence in China for thousands of years: fish is farmed in paddy fields, either concurrently or rotationally with rice. This system is of great importance in the sustainable development of agriculture both in China and many other countries. However, the rice-fish farming system is threatened by expansion of the highly productive mono rice or fish systems.