Comparative Productivity, Profitability and Efficiency of Rice Monoculture and Rice-Fish Culture Systems

Abstract

ABSTRACT Conducted at Magelang District, Central Java, Indonesia, the productivity and efficiencies of 5 rice-fish systems were compared with rice monoculture. Stratified random sampling method was employed in the selection of the 217 sample farmers distributed as follows: 36 rice-cum-fish farmers, 33 rotational fish farmers, 28 sequential fish farmers, 26 sequential fish + rice-cum-fish farmers, 21 rice-cum-fish with two times of fish stocking farmers and 74 rice monoculture farmers. Compared with rice monoculture, the total gross revenue in rice-fish systems increased by 42%. In the highest fish yielding rotational fish systems (ROTF), the total gross revenue increased by 2.5 times and 1.74 times in rice-cum-fish 2 fish stocking. Rice-fish systems were 77% (total costs) and 79% (cash costs) more expensive than rice monoculture. But due to the increase in revenue through the fish, the net revenue increased by 66% (Rp 2.0205 M ha−1) or 47% (Rp 4.72 M ha−1) when total and cash costs, respectively, were subtracted. Net revenue in rice monoculture was Rp 2.858M ha−1 and it was 2.43 times more in rotational fish at Rp 8.061 M ha−1. Slightly lower benefit-cost ratio (BCR) was obtained in the rice-fish systems (2.13) than in rice monoculture (2.20) due to the added costs of fingerlings, feeds and labor in preparing the levees and feeding the feeds. But break-even yield for rice was lower (1.04 t ha−1) in the rice-fish systems compared with rice monoculture (2.07 t ha−1). Rice-fish systems were the more technically efficient systems, while less efficient on cash and labor use. The added technical efficiency of rice TE (0.75) and fish TE (0.84) in ROTF exceeded 1. Thermodynamically, there is no such thing as 100% technically efficient systems but supplementary systems as in rice-fish systems, their combined yields can be added and their technical efficiency could be more than unity. Rice-fish systems proved that an agricultural system could be more productive, profitable and technically efficient. Moreover, it could pave the way to an ecology-sound rice farming due to the reduced or zero use of pesticides (insecticides and herbicides).