For thousands of years, rice has been planted in water using the flat basin irrigation cropping method. Ricefields with ridges are new. Most farmers doubt that the rice plants can absorb water and nutrients when they are planted on the ridges. Some farmers also complain that the ridges make it difficult for them to put their threshing tubs and machines in the fields at harvest time. More demonstration and extension efforts are needed to overcome these problems.
Many places have no previous experience with raising fish in ricefields.
There are also some social problems. Fish in the fields are often stolen, especially in cold, waterlogged fields that are usually located in remote mountain areas. Farmers worry about this. Local governments must strictly enforce the law to protect farm production from theft. The villagers could also develop some protective measures.