Assessment of nomadic rice-duck complex ecosystem on energy and economy

Abstract

Introduction: Modern intensive rice production has brought a large amount of environmental pollution and do not guarantee the safety of rice quality. Thus, to improve the farmer's rice production model to reduce agro-chemicals is of great importance to decrease pollution and to guarantee the security of food quality. Here, our experiments illustrated that nomadic rice-duck complex ecosystem (RD) could reduce energy input and increase both energy output and the values of the product safety index based on energy (PSI). Results: According to the results of our experiments, RD and rice monoculture production system (RM) were −0.6 and −0.78, respectively, which indicated that the safety potential of products in RD was higher than that of RM. Protein yield based on RD was significantly higher than that of RM. The output/input, gross income, and net income of RD were 15.26%, 39.51%, and 44.80%, respectively, higher than that of RM; the data suggest that the economic benefits of RD were greater than that of RM. Conclusions: Consequently, as an intermediate-type technology, RD could become a feasible alternative that could reduce agro-chemical application rate without decreasing rice yield and increasing labor intensity. Furthermore, as an inheritance and development of the Chinese farming culture, RD is a classic Chinese farming technology withstanding more than 700 years of tests.

Effects of Two Straw Return Methods Coupled with Raising Ducks in Paddy Fields on Stem Lodging Characteristics

“…Rice-duck co-culture has many economic, environmental, and ecological benefits [17], in which is ducks live directly in the field by creating a mutualistic relationship between rice and ducks that yields benefits to both entities [18]. Ducks eat weeds and insects in the field to control insect and weed density, increase soil nutrients through metabolism, and increase ventilation to promote root growth.…”

Variations in nutrient and trace element composition of rice in an organic rice-frog coculture system

“…The introduction of ecologically, friendly animals into paddy fields creates an integrated agro-ecological system. Many studies have described rice–fish and rice–duck coculture agro-ecosystems and show how these practices reduced the rate of chemical fertilizer and pesticides 11 – 14 . However, few studies have focous on the rice–frog coculture system, although this system can effectively pests population of and reduce pollutions in soil and rice grain 15 – 19 .…”

Rice Import Development in Indonesia

“…The government needs to prepare a better agricultural infrastructure, re-study the government purchasing price, and stop the rice import in order to prevent a market failure. The rice policing should have paid more attention to the research results (Coulibaly et al, 2015), an increase on an import tariff up to 35% could decrease the rice import volume in order to protet the domestic industry in Voted Ivory and in Indonesia (Davidson, 2018), an increase on the bargaining power of the local rice produce would against the rice import (Demont & Rizzotto, 2012), price volatility of the rice (Fulton and Reynolds, 2015), imported rice minimum quota of 180 thousand tons will cause the price of the imported rice from Japan to be lower than its domestic price (Gao et al, 2016), an omission of the design policy on rice field, has successfully increased the rice consumption, decreased the poverty line, increased the food durability and household nutrients in Vietnam (Giesecke et al, 2013), a relocation policy of the agricultural land due to climate change has been highly influencing the rice production (Mushtaq et al, 2014); (Scott et al, 2014); (Zheng et al, 2014), in order to raise the poor farmers welfare in Nigeria, it needs to focus on changing the rice sector (Doumbia et al, 2012), a high subsidy and protection to the rice commodity in the producer countries will expand the productivity gap between poor country and rich country (Rakotoarisoa, 2011), Qatar as the rice importer country must take caution against substances such as As, Zn, and Se which highly affecting human health (Rowell et al, 2014), a unique combination of factors like social, economy, political, history, and are all together affecting the rice production and have been identified in China as a point of rice "quality" (Zader, 2012), a protection to the farmers is required because of the price increase at the consumer level (Short et al, 2014), the government purposely transfer the income to the producers with a minimum cost would be achieved through a policy combination in Japan (Takahashi, 2012), the imported rice demand pattern in Malaysia is an implication of the food security policy implemented ( Tey & Radam, 2011), up until today Singapore is still taking a rice import from various supplier and keep updating its new source of import as its diversification strategy (Tey & Brindal, 2013), and a study about rice production history will be useful to the agricultural planning in Indonesia (Panuju et al, 2013).…”