A systematic review of factors affecting the performance of the rice–aquaculture system and regional perspectives

Rice–aquaculture farming has been widely recognized as a sustainable symbiosis system for its potential to increase crop yield and income for farmers and to cultivate aquaculture products simultaneously through co-culture. Nevertheless, the performance of co-culture production systems depends on various factors, but few studies have examined the factors that affect their performance, leading to a reliance on trial and error in the operation and design of these systems. In this study, a systematic review was conducted to investigate factors that impact the performance of the rice–aquaculture system, both economically and environmentally. Four main categories of factors, including field conditions and management, feeding supplement, aquaculture farming, and rice cultivation were identified to be related to the success of the rice–aquaculture system. By analyzing data from diverse geographic regions, this study also elucidated general trends, region-specific challenges, and opportunities within rice–aquaculture practices. Future directions were also proposed with the need to develop complementary guidelines for the design and management of co-culture systems to maximize economic benefit while minimizing negative environmental effects, thus improving the overall sustainability of the co-culture production system.