Certified rice–crayfish as an alternative farming modality in waterlogged land in the Jianghan Plain region of China

Abstract

AbstractA novel rice (Oryza sativa L.)–crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) (RC) farming model that originated in areas of waterlogged land in the Jianghan Plain has rapidly developed in rice‐planting areas in recent years. However, whether RC farming can be employed as an alternative sustainable agricultural modality in waterlogged areas remains highly controversial. To that end, we conducted household surveys in Qianjiang, Jianli, and Honghu in the Chinese Province of Hubei where RC farming was first initiated in 2000. The results of this study suggest that RC farming offers a sustainable alternative to traditional rice–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (RW) and crayfish monoculture (CM) farming, as it enables farmers to fully leverage the natural ecological productivity of waterlogged rice fields. Evidence indicates that such RC farming is more sustainable than other farming practices from both an ecological and an economic perspective, and the adoption of this farming model has increased the income of local farmers by 9–48% while decreasing the use of nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides, and fishery drugs by 56, 75, and 58%, respectively. Our findings emphasize the importance of recognizing RC farming as an environmentally friendly and efficient approach to food production in the waterlogged land of Jianghan Plain.