Apatani tribe lives in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Apatanis, one of the major ethnic groups of the eastern Himalayas, practise a distinctive form of agriculture where rice and fish are grown together.

* These farmers have been practising integrated rice-fish farming in their mountain terraces of Arunachal Pradesh since the 1960s.

* The potential areas of rice-fish culture in the Apatani plateau are Napping, Yachuli, Ziro-II, Palin and Koloriang.

* Apatanis principally use three rice varieties : Emeo, Pyape and Mypia.

* The total area of the Apatani Plateau is 10,135 square kilometres, where rice-fish culture is undertaken approximately in 592.0 hectares (ha) of irrigated rice lands out of 715.7 ha.

* Apatani Plateau is a land of diverse cultures.

* The major festivals of Apatanis are the Myoko, Dree, Yapung and Murung. People here believe that these traditional festivals ensure better productivity and well-being.

* Apatani Plateau has a climate ranging from humid subtropical to temperate. So, this plateau receives adequate rainfall during the summer season.

* The permeability and water-retaining capacity of the clayey, loamy soil favour this unique farming technique.

* This integrated rice-fish cultivation is a low-input and eco-friendly practice. The stocked fish practically depend on the natural food sources of the rice fields and thus, farmers hardly need to use any supplementary fish feeds.

* The farmers sometimes use household and agricultural wastes and excreta of domestic animals like pigs, cows, mithun (Bos frontalis) and goats to make farming more sustainable and organic...

Source : Down to Earth