Integrated Rizi-Pisciculture: An approach towards livelihood and nutritional security for the tribal community of East Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh

In Northeastern region of India, livelihood of majority of the rural communities depends on rice farming. The tribal population of the region traditionally practices shifting and terrace rice cultivation in hills and wet rice cultivation in the valleys. The core diet of the inhabitants of the region is rice, millers, pulses and a wide variety of local semi domesticated and wild plants (Yumnam, 2011). Tribal community of NE states including Arunachal Pradesh is predominantly non-vegetarian and protein requirements are supplemented with animal meat, bush meat including birds and fishes. Even though the fish is an integral part of their diet still the aquaculture activities in the region is in primitive stage. The major constraint for development of ponds and tanks for aquaculture in north eastern states is hill topography. Whereas, there is a high pressure on foothills for agriculture mostly riziculture and other agricultural allied activities. Under these circumstances, there is a need to switch over from traditional method of agriculture to technically sound integrated farming systems