As the harvest season unfolds, the vibrant golden rice fields of Zhongqiao Village in Nanmu Town, Guangxi’s Guiping City, buzz with activity. Workers are busy cutting rice, threshing, separating straw, and loading trucks, showcasing the hustle and bustle of autumn harvest. Gao Qiansen, the head of Qiansen Family Farm, shares his experience while harvesting rice and preparing the fields for shrimp cultivation.
“Look at these little crayfish; they coexist with the rice,” Gao explains, noting that they’ve started burrowing and breeding. “This year, my late rice harvest is about two weeks earlier than last year, and I’ve harvested around 30 acres so far. Our farm has expanded to 165 acres of rice and shrimp integrated cultivation, generating an annual income of about 990,000 RMB.”
Chen Shoufu, the head of the Guiping City Aquatic Technology Promotion Station, adds, “Now that we are in the rice harvest period, we are guiding farmers in various towns on how to prepare their fields and manage water levels for shrimp breeding, aiming to produce shrimp seedlings earlier this year to boost profitability.”
The integration of rice and shrimp farming has become a significant trend in Zhongqiao Village, where the number of small-scale farmers engaged in this practice has grown from just two in 2022 to 70 today. Village Secretary Cai Rongzhen emphasizes the benefits, stating, “This method not only reduces risks for smallholders but also provides them with substantial profits. We’ve implemented various integration models, including ditch-type and flat-cultivation systems, and now have about 4,500 acres of rice-shrimp farming, encouraging surrounding villages to develop over 1,300 additional acres.”
With approximately 82,000 acres dedicated to rice and shrimp integrated farming, Guiping City ranks among the forefront in Guangxi, boasting 324 operational units that have helped over 3,300 households increase their incomes. The annual production of crayfish in rice fields reaches 11,800 tons, contributing around 816 million RMB to the local economy, translating to nearly 10,000 RMB per acre. This model has become a crucial element in stabilizing grain production, enhancing farmers’ incomes, promoting green agricultural transformation, and driving rural revitalization.
As the scale of integrated rice-shrimp farming expands, it has also spurred the growth of the upstream supply chain—shrimp seedling breeding. Under the photovoltaic panels in Mengtai Town’s Mianchong Village, the Yongzhen Crayfish Breeding Base has established over 2,000 acres equipped with a seedling breeding area.
According to base manager Cao Jinfeng, “We anticipate producing around 150 tons of seedlings this year, worth 9 million RMB. Our ‘land-use dual purpose and fish-light integration’ model not only enhances land utilization but also satisfies the seedling demands for the local 4,000 acres of rice-shrimp farming.”
Cao continues, “We need more ‘new farmers’ in the shrimp breeding industry. Six young individuals from our village who previously worked elsewhere have joined our efforts through a stockholding and labor model, making significant contributions to the development of the local rice-shrimp industry. Currently, about 40 villagers work here, earning between 5,000 and 8,000 RMB per month.”
In the nearby Caoliang Village, a 610-acre Australian freshwater crayfish demonstration zone has been established, featuring ten orderly seedling workshops. Pan Wentian, head of Guangxi Xinheng Port Ecological Agricultural Technology Co., explains, “This is Guangxi’s first fish-light integration project, where we’ve independently developed a factory-style seedling cultivation technique. We control all 14 processes, from breeding parent shrimp to hatching and marketing the seedlings. This year, we expect to produce 11 million freshwater crayfish seedlings. Additionally, our new seabass breeding project is progressing well, and we anticipate producing around 10 million fish seedlings by next April, mainly for markets outside Guangxi, increasing annual revenue by over 2 million RMB.”
With abundant water resources and unique geographical advantages, Guiping City is vigorously promoting the full-chain construction of integrated rice-shrimp farming, emerging as a new highlight in rural development and agricultural industry growth.
