It is the harvest season for crayfish and local crayfish from Qingpu are also being put on the market in batches.

At the crayfish farming base in Xingbang Village, Liantang Town, farmers have also started to get busy.

The crayfish in Xingbang Village are raised with a breeding and separation method. Starting from April, mature crayfish and crayfish seedlings caught from the breeding fields are sorted and separated. The mature crayfish are sold directly from the field to the market, while the seedlings are returned to the field to continue being raised.

"The crayfish we are catching now are characterized by their black shell and plump meat, which have a good taste and are very popular in the market. We expect to be able to catch and sell a large batch by the beginning of May," said crayfish farmer Shen Weijie.

In mid-June, after the crayfish harvesting is over, this field will start to sow rice varieties with strong resistance to lodging. After the rice is mature and harvested, the field is flooded with clear water for the crayfish; then, the following April, the practice of "catching the large and leaving the small" continues.

The crayfish farming base at Xingbang Village has a total of 60 mu of rice-crayfish fields. Each mu can produce about 200 kilograms of crayfish, and the combined output value of rice and crayfish per mu is around 6,000 to 8,000 yuan (US$1103.45). Compared to the traditional farming model, the "rice-crayfish integrated farming" model has tripled the income.

The rice-crayfish integrated farming model is an ecological agricultural production model that organically combines crop cultivation with aquaculture. Nowadays, this integrated farming model is gradually being promoted in Qingpu and is becoming a new highlight industry for stabilizing Qingpu's grain production and promoting the increase of farmers' income.