January 22, 2007

Philippine fishfarmers can grow freshwater prawn, rice seeds in one field

After numerous years of research, Philippine aquaculturists and fishfarmers can now farm ulang or giant freshwater prawn and rice plants together in the same field, reports the Philippine Star daily.

Actually, the rice-prawn technology is a modification of the rice-fish farming system developed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) way back in the late 1970s. The rice-fish system, however, suffered some setbacks because of inappropriate design not acceptable by farmers.

Under the modified technology, farmers allocate 10 percent of their farm for prawn culture and the 90 percent for rice production.

The water coming out of the prawn pond, which is rich in nutrients from excreta and uneaten food of the shrimps, are used by the rice plants.

Researchers Emiliana Casbedillo, Virginia Panisales and Roselle Bucero of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the technology offers an improved alternative source of livelihood for the farmers since prawn is a high-value commodity that commands a high price of P300 (U$6.11) to P500 (US$10.19) per kilogramme.

According to the BFAR researchers, on-farm research on rice-prawn culture began in 2001 in the upland areas of barangay Oples and Taytay in Nagcarlan, Laguna. The sites were ideal for rice-prawn farming because of the good quality of the water as this came from springs and was pollution-free.

The aquaculturists noted that most of the rice paddies were designed as terraces and majority of the farmers did not use pesticide or insecticide on their rice fields.

The program's success replicated in nearby towns such as Liliw, Calauan, Bay, Sta. Cruz, and Calamba

In 2004, fish farmers in lowland areas in Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal also adopted the technology.

For 2006, the researchers extended the project in the CALARBARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region.