Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Economic viability of rice-fish integration with the on-farm reservoir of rainfed ecosystem in eastern India

Author(s):

Laxmi Narayan Sethi ¹, Sudhindra N. Panda ^2*, D. P. Verma ³

Recieved Date: 2005-03-19, Accepted Date: 2005-09-27

Abstract:

The problems of the rainfed agriculture are more complex than the irrigated agriculture. In situ conservation of rainwater in the dyked cropped field and in the on-farm reservoir (OFR), harvesting of excess rainwater from the field in the OFR, use of harvested water for supplemental irrigation (SI) and diversified cropping (fish culture) are some of the options for rainwater storage and recycling processes for increasing the overall agricultural productivity of a region. For the selection of appropriate rainwater management strategies, water balance simulation model followed by field experimental verification were carried out during the monsoon season for sustainable production of rice (Oryza sativa, MW-10 Variety) and fish varieties such as rohu (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla catla) and mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) in the polyethylene lined and unlined OFRs with different weir heights (0, 5 and 10 cm) maintained at the inlet point of the excess rainwater from the field into the OFR. The average (1994-2003) volume of runoff generated from the rice field area (720 m²) through the weir heights of 0, 5 and 10 cm were 170.51, 127.88 and 92.84 m³, respectively. The average depth of storage required for the lined and unlined OFRs (10% of the rice field area) with 1:1 slope was 2.46 and 1.99 m, respectively. Hence, the constructed storage depth of the OFR was kept as 2.4 m for both the lined and unlined systems including the settlement allowance. The benefit cost ratio (BCR) obtained from rice-fish integration with the lined OFRs are 1.54 for 0 cm and 1.65 for 5 cm and 1.80 for 10 cm weir heights. Similarly, for unlined OFR system, the BCR are 2.83 for 0 cm, 2.70 for 5 cm and 2.66 for 10 cm weir heights. The pay back periods obtained for the lined OFR with 0, 5 and 10 cm weir heights are 21, 20 and 19 years, respectively, whereas for the unlined OFR system with 0, 5 and 10 cm weir heights, the pay back periods are 12, 13 and 13 years, respectively. The study revealed that rice-fish integration in the unlined OFRs is more economically viable than the lined system for increasing the agricultural productivity during the monsoon season of rainfed ecosystem.

Keywords:

Agricultural productivity, benefit cost ratio, eastern India, on-farm reservoir, rice-fish integration, payback period, rainfed ecosystem, rainwater harvesting, water balance simulation, weir height

---

Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2005
Volume: 3
Issue: 3&4
Category: Environment
Pages: 194-199

---

Full text for Subscribers

---

Information:

Note to users

The requested document is freely available only to subscribers/registered users with an online subscription to the Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment. If you have set up a personal subscription to this title please enter your user name and password. All abstracts are available for free.

Article purchasing

If you like to purchase this specific document such as article, review or this journal issue, contact us. Specify the title of the article or review, issue, number, volume and date of the publication. Software and compilation, Science & Technology, all rights reserved. Your use of this website details or service is governed by terms of use. Authors are invited to check from time to time news or information.

---

Purchase this Article:   20 Purchase PDF Order Reprints for 15

---

Share this article :