Alternative Rice Systems

I have become quite interested in two alternative rice production techniques. I wonder if it is coincidental that both of these systems were developed in varying capacities by Japanese farmers. The first is a zero-tillage system developed by Masanobu Fukuoka and the second is an integrated duck and rice system developed by farmer Takao Furuno.

Fukuoka is quite famous in sustainable agriculture circles for his book titled "The One Straw Revolution", which is a sort of manifesto for natural farming; taking the idea of nature mimicry in agriculture to a degree that most farmers would be uncomfortable with. Regardless, I highly recommend this book not only for its' interesting agrarian techniques, but also for its' philosophical insights into food production, our unavoidable connection with nature and the errors of modern scientific inquiry.

Fukuoka practices zero-till agriculture and in his climate is able to rotate summer rice production with winter grains. A permanent ground cover of clover is maintained to supress weeds and to protect and enhance soil quality. Prior to planting rice he floods his fields to stunt the clover but not kill it. This gives the rice plants a chance to establish while the clover is recovering. I believe this is the only time he floods his rice fields, other than periodic flooding for irrigation purposes during the driest summer months. This runs very contrary to conventional wet rice production where paddy flooding is maintained during the vegetative growth stages for irrigation and weed supression purposes. An important aspect of this system is that all the straw from the rice and subsequent grain crops is returned to the field surface. The only input is a small amount of poultry manure to enhance decomposition. This system has resulted in very productive humus rich soils with excellent structure. Fukuoka's yields would consistently meet or exceed conventional yields without all the labour, machinery, fossil fuels and chemical inputs. He asserts that healthy soil and an undisturbed agroecosystem account for the very limited pest and disease problems encountered on his farm.

The second system developed by Japanese farmer Takao Furuno integrates ducks into the rice paddy system, offering a beneficial relationship that maximizes system wide yields. In this system young two-week old ducklings are placed into the paddy approximately two weeks after transplanting and remain there until the rice starts to form seed heads. The ducks serve several roles in this system. For weed control the ducks work to cultivate the soil on a continual basis, muddy the water to reduce weed germination, push weeds and seeds into the ground, and graze on the young weeds and their seeds. The ducks also provide real-time pest control and fertilize the paddies with their manure. As you can see the ducks do a lot of work for the farmer and eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The interactions get more complex, so I recommend getting his book 'The Power of Duck' if you are interested.

Takao Furuno has taken this system a couple steps further by growing azolla, a small nitrogen fixing water plant, among the rice plants. The ducks feed on these fast growing plants and subsequently leave behind nitrogen rich manure. He is also producing loaches, a small breed of fish, in his paddies. This has allowed him to further enhance soil fertility and increase the net productivity of his rice paddies.

I attempted the integrated duck and rice system at the model farm where I work here in Thailand, but was not very successful. First off, I had the timing all wrong. Our rice seedlings were pretty stressed at the time of transplanting and took some time to recover. The ducks we bought were apparently three weeks old when we received them, but I am now of the opinion that they were closer to five weeks, and are definitely not the small variety that the seller claimed them to be. The ducks were put in the paddy ten days after transplanting. The combined effect of stressed seedlings and big birds resulted in approximately half of the rice crops dying.

Secondly, the depth of water is very important and must be maintained. It should be at such a depth that the ducks can swim, but their feet just scuff on the ground. If the water is too shallow the ducks will trample the rice, if it is too deep the rice may suffocate. Good water control requires ready access to an irrigation canal and impermeable retaining berms. Our irrigation canal is rain fed and unfortunately at the time of duck incorporation the rains were too infrequent. Our retaining berms are also poorly constructed and leaked. The farm workers also ‘forgot’ to check the water level daily and neglected the research plot. The rice that survived is doing well and there are no pest problems in this field.

Baby ducks, cute but just how old are they?

As one person told me, “You will never tell a Burmese person how to grow rice”, and really, what Asian rice farmer would listen to a white guy telling them that there is a better way to grow rice? During this experiment the old saying ‘You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink’ kept coming to mind. Despite explaining the rationale of the experiment several times in different languages it came down to the fact that the farm workers just didn’t believe it would work and refused to partake in the management of the research paddy. This was the most valuable lesson for me and has impacted my subsequent work. I realized the foundations for such advances in agriculture had not been laid and much more had to be done before any of the people I work with would be ready for a complex integrated system.

This has solidified my belief that an approach guiding the recipient towards self discovery is the best solution. Telling people what to do is ineffective, providing them an opportunity to discover their own solutions is not only more effective, but is also empowering. It has also forced me to reassess my expectations. As another friend said, "If you can get them to use some mulch and stop shitting in their water then consider it a success!" I think I got the mulch bit covered, now onto clean water...