Rice scientist Zeng Yawen helps a Gaza township farmer lift netted fish caught in the local paddy fields. For over 1,200 years in Southern China farmers have been employing rice fish farming, which sees fish being raised in rice paddies. Recent scientific research from Zhejiang University has shown that the rice fish system requires 68% less pesticide use and 24% less chemical fertilizer use than the monoculture rice system. This method has been designated a "globally important agriculture heritage system" by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).