Localized Adaptation of Rice-Prawn Co-Culture Technologies Through China-Cambodia Cooperation

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The following article provides a synthesized summary of the video above, produced by China Global Television Network (CGTN) with support from the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China (FECC).

Cambodia's rice sector supports more than 15 million people and spans around 3 million hectares of paddy land, yet many farming households still rely heavily on favorable weather and have limited financial, technological, and technical capacity. These constraints have long shaped a traditional rice–fishery system: during the flood season, insufficient flood‑control infrastructure leaves fields submerged, and farmers depend on harvesting wild fish, shrimp, and crabs—an approach that supplies about 60 percent of aquatic foods for rural households but yields low productivity due to the absence of scientific management.

As farmers and policymakers explore ways to strengthen resilience and diversify production, attention has increasingly turned to the giant river prawn, a species native to the Lancang–Mekong River system and well suited to Cambodia's rice‑growing environments. The country's natural rainy season, with daily rainfall from June to October, creates hydrological conditions favorable for integrated rice–shrimp systems and rotational models. Against this backdrop, rice–prawn co‑culture has emerged as a promising ecological farming approach that aligns with seasonal water dynamics while offering a pathway to improve both rice and aquatic production.

Rice-prawn co-culture is an ecological farming model that enables rice cultivation and aquaculture to coexist within the same water environment. In this system, shrimp loosen the soil, help control pests, and contribute natural fertilization, while rice purifies the water and provides shade for the shrimp. The model increases land-use efficiency, reduces reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and allows a single field to generate two outputs.

China has a long history of developing rice-prawn co-culture, but this experience could not be directly applied in Cambodia due to differences in infrastructure and production conditions. China benefits from more developed aeration technologies and more convenient transportation networks, while Cambodia relies largely on collecting wild shrimp seedlings of varying sizes from rivers, resulting in inconsistent survival rates. These differences highlight the need to adapt the model to local ecological and production realities rather than replicate external practices wholesale.

In response to this need for localized adaptation, a research team led by Professor Wu Xugan from Shanghai Ocean University, a leading institution in rice-fish co-breeding research, conducted field investigations among 174 farmers in Battambang, Kampong Thom, and Takeo provinces. Drawing on these assessments, the team developed a rice-giant river prawn co-culture model tailored to Cambodian production conditions. Their work focused on developing techniques for cultivating large-sized prawn seedlings, introducing aeration to support higher stocking densities, improving feed quality, and strengthening water-quality monitoring.

Building on this progress, the team developed several complementary production models, including rice-giant river prawn co-culture, rice-giant river prawn rotation, and pond-based cultivation of large-sized prawn seedlings. Technical guidelines were prepared to support farmers in adopting these practices and to facilitate training activities. As a result, the temporary rearing survival rate of giant river prawn seedlings reached approximately 70 percent, with an average body weight of 5.2 grams.

Field implementation has been concentrated primarily in Takeo province, involving 52 farming households and covering around 50 hectares. Reported outcomes indicate an income increase of approximately USD 3,000 per hectare. Farmers have reported annual sales of around USD17 per kilogram, with one tonne of product generating approximately USD 17,000 in revenue – significantly higher than returns from rice cultivation alone.

To facilitate broader adoption of these models, the research team has also carried out a series of capacity-building activities, including organizing local technical training for farmers and frontline practitioners, and developing aquaculture technologies suited to local conditions-such as methods for breeding rice-shrimp seed stocks and integrating these techniques into local production systems. Since 2024, more than ten technical training sessions have been conducted, reaching hundreds of participants.

These capacity-building efforts extend beyond field-level training and increasingly emphasize long-term human resource development. Shanghai Ocean University has established a scholarship programme for students from Cambodia and other countries. Some Cambodian graduates have returned to their home communities and are contributing to technological advancement in agriculture and aquaculture. These individuals aim to apply the knowledge and experience gained abroad to support national food security and sustainable agricultural development.

The transition from external technical support to the development of local expertise is gradually taking shape. In both field and laboratory settings, practitioners are learning, experimenting, and adapting the work to local needs. Future plans include establishing a joint China-Cambodia laboratory for sustainable aquaculture, intended to integrate scientific research with practical application and support continued development of the sector.