Organic rice-prawn aquaculture (#journal)

Organic rice–prawn farming yields 20% higher revenues

Organic farming of rice and giant river prawns in rotational crops was tested in the waterlogged paddy fields of Kuttanad, Kerala as part of the Indian Organic Aquaculture Project. Rice was cultivated during November to February, followed by a crop of freshwater prawns in the same field from March to September. Farming rice organically reduced yields by 23 %. However, the organic prawn crop yield was 10 % higher than the yield of the conventional system, so although organic rice farming realized lower returns than conventional, its combination with organic prawn farming enhanced net revenue by 20 % over conventional rice/conventional prawn production.