Rice-fish systems are common in many South and Southeast Asian countries as well as some areas of Africa. The systems are diverse, spanning capture fisheries and aquaculture, with fish and rice growing concurrently in rice fields and canals or, alternatively, fish raised between rice crops.

FISH has developed several approaches to increase fish production and productivity in rice-fish systems, notably in Bangladesh and Cambodia, both FISH focal countries. In Bangladesh, where estimates suggest that the country’s potential rice-fish production system encompasses 2–3 million hectares of land, culturing carp species and mola, a micronutrient-rich small indigenous fish, in homestead ponds connected to rice fields led to a 3.5-fold increase in total fish production compared to stand-alone ponds.