Vientiane farmers fight snail invasion
Farmers in three villages alongside That Luang marsh in Xaysettha district, Vientiane , are fighting an invasion of mud snails which are ravaging their rice crops.
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/

I cannot read the full story (i don't have access)... but i spent a lot of time searching information about this issue...

There are many solutions to fight snail:
- grow fish in the rice fields. the fish will eat the snails. it's interesting solutions because you make 2 business in one: grow rice and grow fish, but it seams quite complex (select the right fish, take care them, but them in another place when the rice field is dry...)
- put ducks in the rice fields: they will eat snails too, but once again, it's a lot of work because you have to take care them and look at them (they should not eat the rice)

But the solutions that seams to be the best to fight snails is in fact to NOT fight them:
the snails dont like being too hot, and eat only the baby rice plant.
The solution is to put as few water in the rice field when the plants are too young. So the snails will stay underground and won't go up to eat the young rice plant
When the rice plant is stronger, you can put more water to make them grow more. Then the snails will come, but they wont eat the rice plants (too strong), on the contrary, they will eat the other plants... the bad ones that are not rice. This wil help the rice to grow better, and moreover, the snails will enrich the ground with their ****, and this will benefit to the rice!

snails can be your friends , but you have to learn how to control them and make them usefull.

The solution based on chemical products to kill them are dramatic: those products are very expensive, can be dangerours for human, and are probably not good for the richness of the ground/land because they will destroy life in the ground.... and to grow rice efficently, you need a rich ground.