This review was conducted using information available in the different secondary sources such as national or international peer-reviewed journals, articles, periodicals, magazines, related books, and others. Information was also collected from different websites related to fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture and integrated agri-aquafarming systems. Electronic media and leaflets were also important sources of information. Information was collected from directly from fish farmers, poultry farmers and others who have used this practice. Valuable information was collected from respected course instructor and others. All the information collected from different secondary sources was compiled systematically and arranged chronologically.
Integrated farming aims to sustain agricultural production, maintain farm incomes, achieve nutritional improvement and safeguard to the environment which emphasizes the strong interdependence between different agricultural products. It can directly control the land and environmental degradation that is considered as a middle course between organic and intensive farming to maintain environmentally friendly farming also improves the space utilization, recycles resources among different agricultural enterprises. Integrated Aquafarming with crops, livestock, and aquaculture can be used for potential yield improvements and monetary advantages as well as positive implications for food security, dietary balance, and nutrition. Integrated Aquafarming can reduce the risk of enterprise failure, offer increased protection from disease and pest damage and increase profitability.
Integrations Practiced in Bangladesh Bangladesh is an agro-based developing country where almost all the people are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. Peoples engaged in agricultural activities are dependent on agriculture for livelihood and other people are dependent on farmers for their food. To supply the demand of the food requirement of the nation, farmers have been working hard in different ways from the time immemorial. Single crop production, multiple crop production in same field and integration or two or more different environments such as aquatic environment, agricultural cropland, and terrestrial animal husbandry have been practiced by the farmers of Bangladesh from a long time ago only for providing food to the nation. With the increase of population and developmental activities, the cultivable land has decreased drastically which have demanded new, updated and advanced technologies in agricultural production. Different types of integrations have been practiced in Bangladesh including Integrated Agri-Aquaculture systems such as rice-cum-fish farming, vegetable-cum-fish culture; an integrated livestock-fish farming system such as poultry-cum-fish farming, duck-cum-fish farming, cattle-cum-fish farming, goat-cum-fish farming; integrated Horticulture-Fish farming such as embankment horticulture-cum-fish farming and integrated irrigation-fish farming system.
Rice-cum-fish Farming The integrated rice-fish production system is the most traditional integration system practiced in Bangladesh which can optimize resource utilization through the synergistic use of land and water. Integration of fish with rice farming improves diversification, intensification, productivity, profitability, and sustainability [10]. Two types of rice-fish integration systems are commonly used in Bangladesh, alternate fish culture in rice fields and integrated rice-fish farming system [13]. Rice and fish are rotationally produced in the alternate rice-fish culture system on the plain and medium lowlands under rain-fed conditions and alternate farming are performed in deeply flooded lowlands. On the other hand, rice and fish are cultured in together in the integrated rice-fish farming system. In the integrated rice-fish farming system, Indian major carp, exotic carp, common carp, Nile tilapia, silver barb, and silver carps are generally stocked in the alternate farming system. Some specialists suggest avoiding common carp and grass carp because rice plants are uprooted and consumed if rice fields are stocked with common carp and grass within 2 weeks of planting seedlings.
SWOT analysis is a widely used framework due to its simplicity and practicality which stands for the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats which is used to analyze the internal and external factors to attain a systematic approach for decision-making. It is an important tool in addressing the weaknesses of quantitative analyses. The aim of SWOT analysis is to maximize the future position of an enterprise like rice-fish farming system in Bangladesh. SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool which consists of two parts: SWOT analysis I. Analysis of the internal situation: This only discusses actual strengths and weaknesses rather than speculative, future strengths and weaknesses. II. Analysis of the external situation: This includes the ac tual situation, i.e., existing threats, as well as unexploited opportunities and probable trends.