BEIJING: Long before ducks and rice end up on the dinner table, the unlikely pair are already working together to help some Chinese farmers.
The unique, integrated rice-duck farming system practiced in the paddy fields of Erdaogang village in Panshi, Jilin province, permits farmers to produce high-quality organic rice in an eco-friendly fashion.
It involves growing rice and raising ducks in the same paddy field.
“We introduce around 200 ducks per hectare of rice once the seedlings have been transplanted,” said rice farmer, Xiu Jinku. “The ducks eat weeds and insects, their paddling stimulates plant growth and their manure provides a natural fertilizer.
“We can produce high-quality rice rich in vitamins and minerals without using pesticides or chemical fertilizers,” he said. “Moreover, raising ducks and growing rice on the same land also reduces costs and helps us increase incomes.”
The 58-year-old farmer has grown rice for nearly four decades but only started using the rice-duck farming system in the spring of 2019.
“In October 2018, I watched an agricultural documentary film about rice-and-duck farming and I was immediately interested in the new model,” he said. “I began to study how I could apply it on my own land.”
Several months later, Xiu started to apply the system to his 0.67 hectares of rice paddies.
“With the first harvest of high-quality rice, I made a profit of over 30,000 yuan ($4,400), which was much higher than before,” he said. “So I leased additional hectares the following year.”
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
