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Duck-rice farming in China
Posted by jossc on 24 October 2008.
Chinese farmers are discovering that resurrecting the old tradition of keeping ducks in their rice fields allows them to cut down on the amount of pesticides and artificial fertilisers they need to use to grow their crops.
In this lovely short film from Greenpeace China organic rice farmer Weng Falin explains how his 200 ducks effectively weed his rice fields, and protect the plants by eating many of the insects that naturally attack them.
Climate change makes it likely that pests will become more prevalent in the future, but keeping ducks means that farmers don't have to use pesticides and herbicides.Weng's ducks are protecting both water and soil quality by keeping pest numbers down, and helping to maintain the ecological balance of the land.