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sized fingerling (50-100 glfish). Therefore, the fingerlin~s produced in the RFFS
had many optional market channels. Farmers who practiced floating-net fish culture
often came to Binong to purchase fingerlings during the harvest season. This
encouraged the farmers at Binong to practice the RFFS. By 1989, the RFFS had
rapidly increased in Subang (Table 3).
The Sukamandi Research Institute for Food Crops (SURIF) and the
Research Institute for Freshwater Fish (RIFF) in Bogor conducted experiments on
the RFFS technology components and conducted on-farm research to improve the
technology. This research demonstrated that rice-fish culture had increased rice
yields. The RFFS also reduced triple superphosphate (TSP), use of herbicides and
insecticides, and labor for hand weeding, Results were consistent in experimental
stations and on-farm trials.
Three components of the RFFS practiced in the study area are as follows:
H Rice-cum-fish or rice + fish: fry or fingerlings are raised together with rice
for about 40-45 d depending on the use of fish.
H Sequential fish or fish in between: fish are cultivated after the harvest of WS
rice and harvested before the DS rice is planted. This system is usually used
to fatten the fingerlings before they are cultivated in the rice-cum-fish system
during the first DS.
H Rotational fish culture (fish as palawija): after the harvest of DS rice, the
field is submerged to make a fish pond. This is usually done as an alternative
to third-season crops (palawija crops), fish are raised for about 2-3 mo.
If farmers who grow two crops of rice are considered, four farming system
models are practiced over a period of one year in the study area. These farming
systems are rice - rice - fallow, rice - rice - fish, rice + fish - rice + fish - fish, and
rice t fish - fish - rice t fish - fish.
The most commonly practiced rice - fish farming models are rice - rice - fish
and rice + fish - fish - rice + fish - fish. The choice of farming model depends on the
availability of irrigation water. Rice - rice - fallow is still the major cropping pattern.
The rice - cum - fish system offers better prospects in terms of water availability.
Rotational fish culture depends on the water conserved by the Jatiluhur Reservoir
and the Cimacam Dam. In this study, three farming models are evaluated to
determine the impact of the RFFS: rice t fish - rice t fish - fish (FS 1); rice - rice -
fish (FS 11); and rice - rice - fallow (FS 111).