Source: Ahmed, M., M. P. Bimbao, and R.C. Sevilleja. 1992. The economics of rice-fish in Asian mixed farming systems: a case study of the Philippines. p. 207-216. In Z.R. dela Cruz, C. Lightfoot, B.A. Costa-Pierce, V.R. Carangal, and M.P. Bimbao (ed.) Proc. 24th Rice-Fish Res. and Develop. Conf., Int. Center for Living Aquatic Resour. Manag. (ICLARM), Manila, the Philippines.

The production of the fish-rice system offers the possibility to increase farm cash income and nutritional protein levels for many Asian families. The adoption of rice-fish systems had not been to successful in the Philippines because of the lack of social and technical support. There was inadequate water supply and excessive fish poaching. If those constraints could be overcome, there was a potential fish production of 29,340 tons (5,870 tons of protein) with an income of US$35 million. A linear programming model was established to analyze the effects of rice-fish adoption on a rice-based farm. It was assumed that the farmer needed a minimum amount of rice (2,000 kg), fish (70 kg), mungbean (100 kg), and cowpea (60 kg) for maintenance on 2.3 ha of irrigated land. They modeled alternatives in the dry and wet season, with the combination of rice monoculture, fish monoculture, or rice-fish systems using the trench or pond methods with or without intercrops. When shifting from a rice monoculture to a rice-fish system, the new system required 17% more labor and 22% more working capital; but with fish system included, there was 67% more generated farm income. The model indicated that there are economic incentives for the rice-fish system. The rice-fish system would still benefit farmers if both rice and fish production rates were lowered and prices favored rice. To sustain the rice-fish system, there would be a need to manage irrigation water. Fish losses from predators and poaching must also be controlled in order to have wide scale acceptance of the rice-fish system on Philippines farms.

Abstract author: Lori J. Unruh, 1 December 1995.

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