Aigamo – integreret risdyrkning og andehold
15. februar 2012
Den japanske bonde Takao Furuno har på sin risfarm på Kyushu dyrket økologisk siden 1978, og igennem 25 år har han eksperimenteret med at holde ænder sammen med risene.
Ænderne rører ikke risplanterne, men deres snadren i de overrislede rismarker holder ukrudt og skadedyr nede, samtidig med at det ilter vandet og mindsker det lys, som når bunden. Så når ællingerne udsættes på det rigtige tidspunkt, kan man klare sig uden at luge, og helt uden pesticider. Ændernes ekskrementer udgør samtidig den perfekte gødning, hvor mængden vokser med planterne, så ved at kombinere risdyrkning med ande-hold kan man op imod fordoble risudbyttet samtidig med at udgifterne til den kemiske bekæmpelse af ukrudt og skadedyr bortfalder.
Mae-wan Ho beretter fra et besøg hos Takao Furuno: “The ducks are not the only inhabitants of the paddy field. The aquatic fern, Azolla, or duckweed, which harbours a blue-green bacterium as symbiont, is also grown on the surface of the water. The azolla is very efficient in fixing nitrogen, attracting insects for the ducks and is also food for the ducks. The plant is very prolific, doubling itself every three days, so it can be harvested for cattle-feed as well. In addition, the plants spread out to cover the surface of the water, providing hiding places for another inhabitant, the roach [skaller], and protecting them from the ducks. In fact, the roach grows so well in the paddy that Mr. Furuno has not bothered to count them. What do the fish feed on? They feed on duck feces, on daphnia and other worms, which in turn feed on the plankton. The fish and ducks provide manure to fertilise the rice plants all through the growing season. The rice plants in turn provides shelter for the ducks.
The paddy field with ducks and all is really a complex, well-balanced, self-maintaining, self-propagating ecosystem. The only external input is the small amount of waste grain for the ducks, and the output? A delicious, nutritious harvest of organic rice, duck and roach. It is amazingly productive.”¹
