The need for an increased fish production from rice fields prompted the Can Tho University (Vietnam) and the University of Leuven (Belgium) to initiate a collaborative research project named "Impact Analysis and Improvement of Rice-fish Farming Systems in Semi-deep Freshwater Area of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam." The overall objectives of the project are to: (1) understand the interactions of fish production and rice field ecology; (2) identify economically and ecologically appropriate technologies of integrated rice-fish culture for extension to farmers; and (3) monitor and evaluate the impact of proposed rice-fish farming systems on the socioeconomic situation of rice farmers.