Pesticide-Free Duck Rice Farming in Japan

TAMBASASAYAMA, JAPAN - JUNE 10: Solar power panel is seen connect to an electric fence surrounding an organic rice field protect to ducklings from wild animals at an Iseki Rice Farm on June 10, 2024 in Tambasasayama, Japan. Some Japanese farmers have turned to the ancient method of using ducks to grow organic rice at a time when the environment has been threatened by excessive use of fertilizers around the world in recent years. Integrated rice-duck farming has become popular in Japan because the rice produced can be sold at a higher price and helps farmers cope with the impacts of climate change. Rice-duck farmer Shunsuke Iseki, 37, said his family has practiced the "Aigamo method" for organic rice farming for the past 25 years. The Aigamo system was originated by Japanese farmer Takao Furuno in 1980. Iseki Rice Farm has raised 1,300 ducks in its 6-hectare chemical-free rice agriculture. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)