In Santuk district, Kampong Thom province, a 37-year-old couple has found a lucrative side hustle by raising freshwater prawns in their rice fields.
Started in 2024 alongside their usual rice farming, the venture has paid off better than expected, taking a big bite out of the family's living expenses.
Local media report that paddy prawn farming is cheap to run because the shrimp feed naturally on snails and small insects in the fields, cutting down on commercial feed costs. The resulting prawns taste almost like wild-caught ones and are ready for the market after about four months. The couple uses 70 ares (0.7 hectares) of rice land, stocking around 10,000 juveniles per cycle and yielding over 600 kilograms of harvest for buyers.
Most of the sales happen online, with customers ordering from Phnom Penh and other provinces. Depending on the size—such as ten prawns to a kilo—prices range from 60,000 to 80,000 riels per kilogram. Seeing their success, more than ten other households in the village have jumped on board, combining rice farming with prawn raising to steadily improve their household income.
