It improves water management, assures a good harvest, maximizes the use of pits in the field, and helps resolve conflicts between rice and fish caused by operations such as shallow irrigation, drainage of fields, and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The water in the pits helps the rice resist drought and provides a guarantee of steady rice production. The pits also provide more space for the fish, which enhances fish growth and improves yields. If the pits are used as nursery ponds, the fry develop into fingerlings earlier, which reduces transportation costs for fingerlings. The pits also provide a capture area during harvest.
Production is increased and farmers save work and time.
The technique of raising fish in ditches with flowing water is based on flowing-water aquaculture. It is a semi-intensive rice fish culture technique that is used mainly in ricefields with good irrigation and sufficient water resources. Wide ditches are dug and a small flow of water is led into the ricefield. Because intensive aquaculture techniques and principles have been adopted, production is comparatively high. Farmers are adopting this technique rapidly in areas with the required water resources.