Insights from Farmers’ Rice Culture Practices under Integrated Rice–Crayfish Farming System in the Hongze Lake District of China

Zhi Dou, Changsheng Mi, Haikong Lu and Hui Gao ()
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Zhi Dou: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225100, China
Changsheng Mi: Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xuyi County, Huaian 211700, China
Haikong Lu: Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xuyi County, Huaian 211700, China
Hui Gao: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225100, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: In recent years, rice–crayfish integrated farming has expanded rapidly in the Hongze Lake district of China as the booming consumer market of crayfish. However, the current rice cultivation technology limits rice yield and the economic profits of rice–crayfish integrated farming, and the characteristics and farmers’ practices of rice culture under the rice–crayfish integrated farming system are unknown. To understand the present rice culture practices in rice–crayfish integrated farming by farmers and their perceptions and provide direction for improvement, a survey was carried out in 2019 and 2020 in Xuyi County, a representative region of rice–crayfish integrated farming in the Hongze Lake district of China, comprising 208 farmers engaged in RCIF, and detailed and complex information was obtained using face-to-face conversations. Based on the survey results, we found that farmers have limited knowledge of the rice cultivation request in a specific RCIF mode and well-suited rice varieties and mechanical transplanting equipment and corresponding techniques are lacking in RCIF. In addition, farmers had no reliable and scientific methods for the use of nitrogen fertilizers and pest management schemes. In accordance with the constraints mentioned above, we put forward the following suggestions for rice culture improvement: (i) the local agricultural extension department should strengthen the RCIF mode and extend techniques and training; (ii) researchers should develop RCIF-suited rice varieties, mechanical transplanters, and related seedling-raising methods; (iii) researchers should clarify the occurrence regularity of soil properties and rice pests with continuous RCIF practices and provide corresponding guidance for nitrogen application and pest control schemes.

Keywords: rice–crayfish integrated farming; farmers’ rice culture practice; Hongze Lake district; problems; countermeasures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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