Crayfish in the rice fields: A guy from Shiquan County unlocks the “double harvest in one field” model

On one scorching summer day, in the rice-crayfish breeding base of No.1 group of Kuaizipu Village in Zhongchi Town, Shiquan County where the neatly arranged rice seedlings form an endless green ocean under the sunlight, the first batch of crayfish larvae is being put into the rice field.

“Even though I have had crayfish before, I haven’t seen how they were raised. Who would think that crayfish could be raised in the rice field? This double harvest in one field technique is truly marvelous.” The 56-year old Chen Changjiang came to work in the rice-crayfish breeding base during his break from silkworm breeding. After a couple of days, he has developed a keen interest in this new planting and breeding model; therefore, he consults with Tan Lei about crayfish farming every day.

“Zhongchi Town is endowed with convenient transportation, mild climate and concentrated fields. As nurturing crayfish itself requires quality water and the water resources in this region are abundant and clean, the government also supports us to come here and start a business. Besides, the nearby farmers are easy going, so we quickly decided to build the base here...” Tan Lei was quoted saying when asked about the reason why he choose this place as the rice-crayfish base.

With the assistance from the township and village officials, Tan Lei rented sixteen acres of rice fields at a price of about RMB five thousand per acre. Then he hired local farmers to dig fields and trenches, store water, as well as set up purse seine... By doing so, the construction of the base was completed in less than fifty days.