Integrated rice–fish culture is a competitive alternative to rice monoculture for environmental sustainability and food productivity. Compared to rice monoculture, rearing fish in rice field ecosystems could increase food (rice and fish) production from this coculture. Moreover, the water productivity of rice–fish coculture is considerably higher than that of rice monoculture, because of double cropping. Despite these benefits, rice–fish coculture has not yet been broadly practiced. One of the potential challenges for the wider adoption of rice–fish coculture is water management. There are two forms of water involved in rice–fish cultivation: (1) blue water–surface and groundwater, and (2) green water–soil water from rainfall. The aim of this article is to focus on key factors determining the adoption of rice–fish cultivation through the effective utilization of blue–green water. We suggest that the efficient application of blue and green water in rice–fish coculture could help confronting water scarcity, reducing water footprint, and increasing water productivity.

在环境可持续性和粮食生产力方面，稻鱼综合养殖是稻米单一养殖的一种具有竞争力的替代方案。与水稻单一栽培相比，在稻田生态系统中养鱼可以增加这种共育的粮食（水稻和鱼类）产量。此外，由于双季种植，稻鱼共养的水分生产率明显高于水稻单作。尽管有这些好处，但稻鱼共养尚未广泛实施。更广泛地采用稻鱼共养的潜在挑战之一是水资源管理。稻鱼养殖涉及两种形式的水：（1）蓝水——地表水和地下水，（2）绿水——降雨产生的土壤水。本文的目的是关注通过有效利用蓝绿水来决定采用稻鱼养殖的关键因素。我们建议在稻鱼共养中有效应用蓝水和绿水有助于应对水资源短缺、减少水足迹和提高水生产力。