The rice field fish crop started smoothly.

Ninh Binh has thousands of hectares of low-lying fields that practice the one-rice-one-fish crop model. In 2023, these areas were greatly affected by drought, leading to low efficiency. This year, with favorable weather conditions, early and even rain, many farmers believe that this fish crop will be highly effective.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khai (Trung Son village, Son Thanh commune, Nho Quan district) checks and takes care of the fish field area that has been planted.

Early in the morning of early August, Mr. Nguyen Van Khai (Trung Son village, Son Thanh commune, Nho Quan district) rowed his boat to visit the fish field. He surrounded the field with a net, dug a deep ditch in the middle of the field for shrimp and fish to hide, and also installed a water fan to create a flow, increasing the amount of oxygen in the water.

Mr. Khai said: Last year, many households could not release fish into the fields in July because of the extremely hot weather and lack of water. In some places, the water level was only about 20-30 cm, shrimp and fish grew slowly, even suffered from heat shock and died. But this year is different, it rained continuously, the water was immense, in these 20 hectares of fields, he released 3 tons of fish fry and 100,000 giant freshwater prawns from the end of May to the beginning of June. Before that, shrimp and fish were raised in ditches for about 2 months to domesticate them, helping them have good health to cope with the unusual environmental conditions.

"Last year, because of late planting and late harvesting, some shrimp died due to cold weather. This year, I released the shrimp early so I can harvest early, I feel more secure, the yield will definitely be much higher than last year... This is indisputable, we farmers have had experience raising shrimp for decades now," Mr. Khai affirmed.

Like Mr. Khai, this season Mr. Pham Van Hien rented 30 hectares of rice fields from villagers to raise aquatic products. Mr. Hien shared: The most important thing in this model is the water source. In years with favorable water, farming is very easy and highly effective. Rice field fish mainly eat rice husks and plankton in the water, so if the weather is cool, the water source is abundant, and there is a lot of natural food, they will grow quickly.

According to Mr. Hien, this year, in addition to raising traditional fish, his family also released giant freshwater prawns. This is a new species, but through the previous trial, the prawns have adapted well, are suitable for the water and land conditions in this area, are easy to raise, and can take advantage of many foods available in nature such as protozoa, polychaetes, crustaceans, insects, mollusks, algae, organic debris, etc. In particular, giant freshwater prawns have high nutritional value, are delicious, and are very popular with consumers, so the market is very open. Mr. Hien hopes that this year's aquaculture crop in the rice fields will bring high income to his family.

Being a low-lying area, the Summer-Autumn rice crop is often flooded by storms and cannot be harvested. Therefore, with the goal of respecting the laws of nature, sustainable development, and adaptation to climate change, Son Thanh commune has proactively converted 200 hectares to a rice field fish farming model. Comrade Nguyen Van Luan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Son Thanh commune, said: The rice field fish farming area in Son Thanh has developed very strongly in recent years because this model both reduces risks in farming and improves income for people. On average, per hectare, people earn a profit of about 25-30 million VND. This year, thanks to favorable weather conditions, people have planted 100% of the area since May.

To create the most favorable conditions for farmers to produce, the commune has acted as an arbitrator, mobilizing households to agree to let fish farmers rent their fields; supporting irrigation work, ensuring security and order; creating conditions for people to access preferential capital sources to invest in breeds and feed; regularly coordinating with specialized agencies to open training classes to guide techniques for caring for and managing fish fields.

Not only in Son Thanh commune, currently, farmers raising fish in rice fields throughout Nho Quan, Gia Vien, Hoa Lu districts, Tam Diep city - key localities for rice - fish production in the province are also expecting a successful farming season on the basis of favorable water resources right from the beginning of the season. However, according to the Department of Fisheries (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), in recent years, along with the impact of climate change, natural disasters have become increasingly complex, extreme and unusual, so people absolutely must not be subjective.

To increase the efficiency of the fish farming in rice fields, limit the negative impact of the environment on the health of shrimp and farmed fish and the risk of loss, farmers need to note: Seed should be released according to the crop schedule, choose large-sized seeds to shorten the farming time. Regularly monitor the farming fields, check environmental factors such as pH, temperature, water clarity, etc. to have appropriate adjustment measures. Ensure a clean and safe farming environment by simple measures such as periodically applying lime powder to the fields. You can choose to feed the fish with supplementary food (rice bran, corn) with an amount equal to 3-5% of the fish weight. When the rice husk in the field is not enough for grass carp, green food must be added to the field.

On hot days, people should limit thinning, transporting, and releasing seeds. It is necessary to proactively supply water to raise the water level when necessary. It is possible to dig ditches and create low-lying areas as shelters for fish on long hot days, and use bamboo nets to cover ditches and fields to reduce the heat for aquatic products.

In addition, farmers must also prepare flood prevention plans such as reinforcing the dykes to be strong, leak-proof and 0.5 m higher than the highest water level to overcome floods; arranging many drainage ditches and drainage ditches around the farming fields; placing nets around the farming area and regularly checking the drainage system and the banks; cleaning the cages and ditches to drain water quickly; preparing drainage pumps when necessary. Flood prevention plans must be calculated for the entire farming area. During the farming process, it is necessary to regularly monitor; if abnormal signs, suspected disease, or death in the farming pond are detected, it is necessary to report to the authorities for timely guidance and handling.

Article and photos: Nguyen Luu