Page |1

The Power of Duck

Integrated Rice and Duck Farming

by Takao Furuno

Due to the constant increases in the world's

population, there is constant pressure to
produce ever-increasing amounts of food. Rice,
the most commonly consumed grain on the
planet, is a food staple for people in many
countries, particularly in Asia. It has become
increasingly important to preserve arable lands
and adopt sustainable methods to ensure a
reliable food supply for the planets growing
population.

Through modern and chemical farming

methods, we have got the most of the land but
damage the environment and endanger the health of both farmers and consumers. In contrast,
organic farming is a way of growing crops that shuns the use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides. However, it is often a challenge for farmers to adopt organic practices, as they
have to obtain the same yields as conventional farmers.

Rice is one of the most ancient grains cultivated by man, and is considered a staple food for
more than half the world's population. Also, organic rice farming has proven profitable when
done properly, in addition to preserving soil fertility, protecting the environment and
producing chemical-free food.

Takao Furuno's 15 years of raising ducks, rice,

fish and vegetables brought him to New York's
World Economic Forum in February to be
honored as a "social entrepreneur."

Takao Furuno's eco-friendly method of raising

rice, ducks at the same time is called Aigamo.
Used for 500 years in Japan, this traditional
technique consists in transplanting rice in
flooded fields in June. Soon after rice is
transplanted in flooded fields, two-week-old
ducklings are added in fenced pens at a rate of
about 100 ducklings per acre. Instead of eating
rice plants, as one could think, ducks eat weeds,
 Page |2

weed seeds, insects, and other pests. Thus,

Furuno can save 240 weeding hours per hectare.
Also, digging up weeds around the young
plants contributes to oxygenate the water which
leads to stockier stems and fast-growing rice
plants. As well as duck droppings provide
nutrients for plants and fertilized the soil, they
also feet roaches, small fishes, which also eat
planktons.

Furuno's farm, in Teisen Village, is only 2.8

hectares (about six acres) in size. He rotates
crops so that in any given year, two hectares are
planted in rice, and one hectare in assorted
vegetables. His rice yields are nearly twice
those of farmers using conventional production
methods in his region of southern Japan.

After rice is harvested, Furuno adds compost and plants wheat as a cover crop. He raises a
variety of vegetables on each plot in the two succeeding years. Finally, the small farm
produces 7 tons of rice, 300 ducks, 4.000 duckling and enough vegetables and fishes per year
to be delivered every week to 100 families.

Furuno has conducted more than 10 years of experiments to analyze what's been going on at
his farm. With the help of local extension personnel, he measures yield, surveys insect
populations so that the ducks can be introduced at the optimum time, and tests possible
additions or changes. For example, before adding roaches to the paddies, he raised them in a
tub to see if they would be eaten by the ducks. He found that the ducks, although they liked
the fish, tended to ignore them in murky water.

An estimated 10,000 farmers use his system in Japan, and it is being adopted in many rice-
growing areas including China, India and the Philippines. During a 1994 trip to Vietnam, he
saw a woman weeding a rice paddy by hand and, thus, understood how important this
technology would be for people in countries where much of the work is still done by hand.
Since then, he has traveled to a number of other countries to share his methods. He also
published a book (The Power of Duck: Integrated Rice and Duck Farming, Taka Furuno,
2001, Tagari Publications of the Permaculture Institute, Tasmania, Australia).

Empreinte Ecologique Ouverte, 2007, http://ee.angenius.net/tiki-index.php?page=Ferme+de+Takao+Furuno;

Duck power and a tale of success: From six acres to an ecosystem, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture,
2002, Laura Mille; Une ferme cologique miracle,
http://www.alternativechannel.tv/blog/fr/comments/une_ferme_ecologique_miracle_au_japon/