The lowlying rice field is a unique aquatic environment. It has standing column of water and a natural plankton growth in it, in addition to its insect and molluscs, which serve as fish food. Therefore, it has a great potential for fish culture as an additional and simultaneous operation for enhancing production per unit area. Rice cultivation is a major agricultural operation in many of the southeastern coastal states of the country. Rice occupies an aggregate of about 40 lakhs hectares in the four states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharastra. In Goa alone, there are about 40,000 hectares of rice land. In most of the rice fields, particu­larly in lowlying paddies, it is possible to increase income sub­stantially by incorporating fish culture without much additional expenditure towards the fish component. Many rice fields in the villages of Bardez, Tiswadi, Ponda, Salcete and Canacona talukas of Goa are suitable for establishing the system. Most of these fields are already having marginal bunds and a pond situated inside for irrigation during rabi and summer. These can be straight away put under the ricefish combination. Out of about 16,000 ha of Kher lands in Goa, atleast in 9,600 ha, two crops of rice are cultivated in a year, wherein it would be easy to integrate fish culture.

Address: Ela, Old Goa - 403 402, Goa
Telephone: 0832-2284678
Fax: 0832-2285649
Website: http://icargoa.res.in/rice_fish.htm