Buddhika Weerasinghe: Farmers Use Ducklings As Aigamo Organic Rice Farming

TATSUNO, JAPAN - JUNE 17, 2015: One week old duckling paddles as look food in Ichihara’s Organic Rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Japanese rice farmer Tadashi Ichihara works with nearly 300 ducklings to eliminate weeds and insects in the rice fields. Ichihara who is one of leading farmer use "Aigamo Method," a method of using ducklings as the alternative to chemicals in the rice farming since 1999. That Aigamo Method developed by Japanese farmer Takao Furuno in 1989, since then his methods have applied more than 75,000 farmers in Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, The Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran, France and Cuba.

About one or two weeks after seeding have been planted the ducklings releasing into a 1,000 square meters rice field, which farmland surrounded by an electric fence for ducklings protect by dogs, cats, crows and other wild animals. Also ducklings need necessary shelter edge of farmland that they can rest and take refuge from rain.

(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

@Buddhika Weerasinghe

Tadashi Ichihara (R) and his wife Makiko Ichihara make electric fence surround their organic rice farmland for protect to ducklings from crows cats and other wild animals on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture Japan. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

One week old ducklings paddle as look food in Ichihara’s Organic Rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Tadashi Ichihara (back) plants rice seedlings using a Minoru RS4, rice trans-planter and his wife Makiko Ichihara dropping natural fertilizer named Komenuka on their organic rice field on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

One week old ducklings paddle as look food in Ichihara’s Organic Rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Tadashi Ichihara (L) and his wife Makiko Ichihara make electric fence surround their organic rice farmland for protect to ducklings from crows cats and other wild animals on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture Japan. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Two wild ducks stand edge of the rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Makiko Ichihara fixes edge of the her organic rice farmland on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture Japan. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

One week old ducklings paddle as look food in Ichihara’s Organic Rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

An electric fence surround Ichihara's organic rice field as protect to ducklings from crows cats and other wild animals on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

One week old ducklings paddle as look food in Ichihara’s Organic Rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

A sign warning of electric fence display on security fence, surround Ichihara Organic Rice farmland that built for protect to ducklings from crows cats and other wild animals on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

One week old ducklings paddle as look food in Ichihara’s Organic Rice filed on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Tadashi Ichihara loads rice seedlings onto a Minoru RS4, rice trans-planter in a his organic rice field on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Makiko Ichihara dropping natural fertilizer named Komenuka on their organic rice field on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Tadashi Ichihara loads rice seedlings onto a Minoru RS4, rice trans-planter in a his organic rice field on June 17, 2015 in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.(Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)