Introduction

 Arunachal Pradesh: largest of the northeast Indian states, situated

on the extreme north-eastern tip of India in the trans-Himalayan
region.
 Population : 1.38 million (2011), 28 major tribes and 110 sub-tribes.
 Altitudinal variations, distinctive weather and climatic conditions
– one of the richest biotic prefectures of India
 Main occupation: Agriculture
 Important crops: maize, millet, wheat, pulses, potato, oil seeds,
fruits and vegetables, rice is the most congenial as the major
crop.
• Altitude : 1500-
1550 m

• Temp: 5-30 °C
  These rice fields in turn have an immense potential to
augment fish production in the state.

 This technique of rice-fish farming is most popular among the

Apatani tribe in the Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh in their
wet rice terraces.

 The strains of fish species include Cyprinus carpio specularis

(mirror carp), C. carpio communis (scale carp) and C. carpio
nudus (leather carp) cultivated synchronously with local rice
cultivars (Oryza sativa), viz. eamo, ampu, mipya, pyapu,
pyaping and eylang.

 No professional fishers or fish farming community

 A few of the villages where one can experience this age-old practice in the plateau
are Hong, Hari, Hija, Bula, Dutta, Mudang, Bamin and Old Ziro.
 The integration of rice-fish
in terraces
 People are mostly agrarian in habit and possess
a rich traditional knowledge in farming
practices.

 The efficient water management and

sustainable use of the agricultural land and
waste products for integrated rice-fish cultivation
(ajii-ngyii) by these Apatanis in the plateau
remains unmatched if compared to other tribes
of the north-eastern states.

 Women play a major role in rice fish cultivation

from land preparation to marketing of the farm
produce.
 Preparation of rice-fish terraces

 Prepared soon after the final harvest of rice in the

month of November
 The paddy stem is cut in its mid part during the
harvest of rice and the left over stems are allowed to
remain in the field to decompose.
 The water from the terraces is completely drained
so that the soil bottom is exposed to sun and dried
until it cracks.
 December-January: ploughing of fields with
conventional chopping implements (daos) and
spades.

 This is a traditional practice and emphasis is essentially given to three major components of land
preparation (Baruah and Singh, 2018) viz., the strengthening of dykes (agher), the channelization of
irrigated water in the fields and the digging of trenches (siikho/parkho/hehte).
 Vegetables on dykes: cucumber, brinjal, tomato, pumpkin, chilies, beans and crops such finger
millets and maize
 Irrigation system and drainage
 The system is comprised of a primary channel
connected to the main Kiley River.
 Primary channel Feeder channel at
least one of the rice-fish terrace
 The feeder channels not only optimise the usage
of water but also provide nutrient wash-out to the
paddy field from the adjoining catchment areas.
 The water is conveyed from one terrace to another
through a bamboo, wooden or galvanised iron
pipe installed at a height of 15-25 cm.

 Bio-fencing alongside the primary channels.

 The trenches (30-45 cm depth) are most distinctively dug within the rice-fish terraces and
occupy 8-12% of the total area in each of rice-fish terraces.
 The trenches are provided with two outlets (hubur) one at the surface to release excess
water and the other at the bottom for draining the field water for harvesting the fish.
 A water level of 25-35 cm is maintained in the rice-fish plots during the season.
 Nutrient source:
 Cow dung
 Pigs and poultry litter
 Azolla (tapang) are naturally grown as nitrogen fixer (Liu, 1995) during the
fallow period and are mixed with soil at the time of field preparation.
 Lemna spp. (Murta tapang) is also seen growing in the rice terraces which
might serve as fish food as well as a source of organic compost after its
decomposition.
 Other inputs provided in these fields are self-decomposed agricultural
wastes, paddy straw, rice husk, ash, weeds and similar materials.
 Subsequent to harvest, cattle are also grazed in the plots to add manure.
 Litter of decomposed leaves which reach out from the adjoining forest
Rice nursery bed preparation
 Nursery beds (midding) are
simultaneously prepared near to these
terraces on a slightly elevated surface so
as to maintain an optimum quantity of
water, not allowing the beds to get too
dry or too wet.
 The nursery beds are well protected with
bio fencing to avoid grazing stray
animals.
 The seed for these nurseries are prepared
in the previous year and utmost care is
taken to preserve it for better
germination.
 The rice seeds are sown in the month of
February-March in these nurseries for later
transplantation in the main fields.
 The rice-fish-horticulture system
 Fifteen varieties of the local rice (Oryza sativa)
are reported to be cultivated in the Ziro valley
which is mostly categorised into three cultivars
eamo, mipya and pyaping (Kacha, 2016).
 Transplantation of rice seedlings from the
nurseries to the prepared terraces is conducted
in April.
 The 65-75 day old seedlings of 10-12 cm in
height are sowed manually (aemo lilo) by
hand, keeping a distance of 4-8 cm between
each.

 Timely weeding and partial transplanting over dead seedlings are done periodically.
 Finger millet (Eleusine coracana), soya beans, buckwheat, maize, and barley are
grown on the dykes as additional crops.
 Vegetables such as cucumber, brinjal, tomato,
pumpkin, chilies and radish are also grown on the
dykes.

 All these crops are sown in April-May using a wooden

dibbler (damu). Fruits such as kiwi are grown in the
adjoining lands if not directly over the dykes.

 Successive weeding (ahru-hodo)in rice field and

dykes is carried out by manual labour using artisanal
tools during the growing season.
 The most favoured fish species are the strains of
common carp: Cyprinus carpio specularis (mirror
carp), C. carpio communis (scale carp) and C.
carpio nudus (leather carp) for integration with
local rice varieties.

 Fish rearing in the fields involves one batch or two

batches in a year depending upon terrace
conditions.

 Young fish of 5-8 cm size are stocked in the rice

terraces 10-15 days after transplantation of rice
seedlings, preferably during April-May.
  Chaudhary et al. (1993)
advocated rice-fish
systems as an ideal
integration in any rice
ecosystem having
fertile water, even with
lower depth.
 The fish feed on small
insects such as water
beetle and larvae,
which are harmful to
the paddy.
 The waste material
voided by fish acts as
fertiliser for the rice.

 Additionally, the browsing habit of some fish such as common carp help
to release fixed nutrients from the soil, also improving rice productivity
(Halwart and Gupta, 2004).
 Apart from the common carp, species such as grass carp
(Ctenopharyngodon idella), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix),
Barbonymus gonionotus, Labeo gonius and other Labeo species are also
stocked in the plots.

 The fish feed on plankton and periphyton (Saikia and Das, 2008) from the
system, reducing the need for expensive, externally supplied feeds.

 Das et al. (2007) recognised the system as a self-subtracting periphyton-

based aquaculture system for the role played by rice as a surface for
periphyton growth.

 Among the different fish species cultivated, the best results in terms of fish
growth and survival is observed in common carp varieties due to their robust
and hardy nature.
 The rice-fish environment
 The wet rice field is described as a temporary aquatic environment by Roger (1996) or a
special type of wetland that can be considered a successor of shallow marshes or
swamps by Ali (1998), which is influenced and maintained by farmers’ activities.

 Wet rice terraces of the Apatanis may be categorised under irrigated rice ecosystems as
classified for agro-ecological zones by IRRI (1993).

 These terraces have a perennial supply of water which has high potential for rice-fish
cultivation. The aquatic environment in rice terraces of the Apatani plateau is heavily
influenced by water flow in the connecting feeder channels.

 Typical abiotic parameters of these water channels and rice-fish environments are
summarised in Table. Likewise, organic inputs in these rice-fish terraces increase the
growth of both phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity. Owing to the nature of the
water, the aquatic flora and fauna in rice-fish environments have their origins in the
irrigation channels and river sources.
 Dominant plankton species at Rice-Fish fields
of Ziro valley

Ankyra Cladoceran Copepod

Desmidium Euglena Fragilaria

• Feeder canals:
• Fragilaria (55%)
• Spirogyra (24%)
• Rice-fish plots:
• Spirulina (12%)
• Spirogyra (12-47%)
• Nitzschia (11%) Navicula Nitzschia Oocytis
• Oocytis (40%) • Navicula (7%)
• Navicula (5-14%) • Oscillatoria (2%)
• Pinnularia (6-13%) • Fish ponds:
• Nitzschia (13%)
• Euglena (63%)
• Ulothrix (13%) Oscillatoria Pediastrum Pinnularia
• Nitzschia (17%)
• Closterium (13%) • Navicula (14%)
• Stigeoclonium (11%) • Stephanodiscus(
• Ankyra (7%). 10%)
• Copepods (11-90%)
• Desmidium (2%) Spirogyra Spirulina Stephanodiscus
• Cladocerans(5-25%)
The fish seed availability and hatchery facilities
 The Apatani plateau is a hill locked area
and is devoid of much infrastructure for
fish seed production, such as a fish
hatchery operated on scientific
guidelines.

 Limited common carp seed is produced

in the valley.

 Majority of the fish seed is procured from

the neighbouring state Assam.
  ICAR-DCFR, Bhimtal, took initiatives in
establishing a portable FRP made fish
hatchery unit at Hari Village during 2018
in association with the Department of
Fisheries, Government of Arunachal
Pradesh and with the participation of the
Apatani community under the banner of
the Gaumco Multipurpose Cooperative
Society.
 Members of the society were given
hands-on training in broodstock
management, hatchery operation, fish
seed production, transportation and
marketing by exposing them with the
fundamental functionalities of a
recognised fish hatchery at Pabhoi Fish
Farm, Biswanath, Assam in the same year.

 The hatchery is being operated by women members of the society. The sustainable
production of fish seed for stocking in rice-fish farming will expand women’s participation
further in the region.
 Harvesting from rice fish terraces
 The crop of rice is harvested (antee pila or
antee dandu) during September-October
based on the time of sowing of the rice
seedlings.
 Rice grains are collected in a bamboo basket
on the field by thrashing the grains from the
stalk. The collected grains are then
transported in these baskets to the granaries
built by the farmers in their villages.
 The production rate is around 500
kg/ha/season (Saikia and Das 2008). But
during our investigation it was found that the
rice production may reach up to 10
tonnes/ha/season in the rice-fish terraces.

 Additional crops sowed on the dykes such as finger millet, soyabean and maize are
harvested during August-September.
 The vegetables are harvested from time to time during July-October.
  For harvesting of the fishes, water is completely drained
out from the paddy field.
 This compels the fishes to concentrate in the trenches
from where they are caught by hand or by using the
traditional bamboo and cane woven gears.

 The fishes are completely harvested before harvesting rice from the
terraces.
 Common carp generally gain weight up to 300-500 g within a span of 3-4
months as reported by earlier investigators.
 However, it was observed during our field survey that the farmers start
selling the fishes when they attains a weight of 65-80 g.
Marketing and usage of farm produce
 The varieties of rice are mostly
used for self-consumption as rice
is the staple food for the people
of Ziro valley.
 Finger millet is used for food in
the form of flour and for the
preparation of local wine (sarse-
o).
 Similarly, maize, soyabean,
buckwheat and barley are also
used as local food and some of
them for preparation of wine.
 Vegetables are sold in the
market at varying prices ranged
from INR 20-80/kg.
 Fishes:
 Carried to the local market at Hapoli in live condition.

 This short distant transportation is facilitated by

carrying the live fishes in finely woven bamboo and
cane cone-shaped baskets (ajii piiwa or ajii raju). The
basket measures approximately 50-70 cm in height
and 30-45 cm at its mouth circumference and 25-35
cm at its base circumference.

 The transported fishes are immediately released in

water filled trays made of bamboo or cane and line
with polyliner in the market.

 The live fishes are sold at a rate of INR 300/kg (2018).

This price is fetched over the initial cost of INR 1-5 per
fingerling at the time of stocking. Thus the net profit for
the farmer stands more than 100% earning in addition
to their regular crop of rice.
 Conclusion
 This study on terrace farming in the Apatani Plateau reveals that the integration of
rice with fish is a low-cost sustainable practice for the rural masses to obtain high
value protein, nutritional security and income from a unit area.

 Rice-fish farming reduces the usage of fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides in the rice
field and with zero input of artificial feed to fish.

 Such reduction of input costs lowers farmer’s economic load and increases their
income from fish sale. Having such additional income, the net productivity from rice-
fish integrated farming is observed to be much higher than monoculture of rice alone
in the valley.

 Therefore, this low input self-supporting system of traditional rice-fish culture of

Apatani plateau can be very well extended as a farmer-friendly avenue in other
parts of Arunachal Pradesh, with necessary location-specific refinements.
 The quality of water is the biggest factor in any rice-fish farming system and
are subject to the source of water from the feeder canals and connecting
rivers.
 The abiotic parameters of water in rice-fish terraces of the plateau are
within the optimum range and conducive for rice-fish farming.
 In addition, establishment of a private fish seed hatchery in the Ziro valley,
along with a few maintained fish brood banks is an added advantage for
ready availability of quality and quantity fish seeds for self-sufficiency
among the rice-fish growers. Trials have also been made to upgrade the
present strains of common carp to high yielding strains for faster growth and
better productivity.
 The participation of women is an integral part of this farming practice and
empowering them with skills in fish seed production will further enhance the
farm productivity, and promote ancillary business such as net preparation,
mending, feed supply and fish seed trade.
 References
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Arunachal Pradesh, J. Krishi Vigyan, 7(1)(2018)187-191.
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ecosystem of the Muda Irrigation Scheme, B.M. Nashriyak, N.K. Ho, B.S. Ismael, A.B. Ali &
K.Y. Lun (eds.), Mintmada Malaysia, (1998) 25-36.
 Chaudhary R.G., Dwivedi R.N., Dutta K.K., Sarma B.K., Patel C.S. & Prasad R.N., Rice
based farming of Apatani - an efficient indigenous system of hill farming, Indian Journal
of Hill Farming, 6(1)(1993) 93-102.
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43-47.
 Das D.N., Saikia S.K. & Das A.K., Periphyton in rice–fish culture system: A case study from
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 Halwart M. & Gupta M.V. In: Culture of fish in rice fields, FAO and The World Fish Center,
(2004) 1-77.
 IRRI, Rice research in a time of change, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines, (1993).
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