UB 1 = =—Weh = « in INTEGRA 'ED Lee |BICE-DUGK ie he ee CuIie ef ERIE e Agra n for Natt saben velopment Inc. (GARFUNG}About the Cover The Mighty Ducks: The crucial partners at the Mindanao Integrated Rice Duck Center in Tabok, Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental A portrait of the re-emerging role of ducks in the new integratedrice duck farming technology. Taken at 2 weeks old, roughly the same age as its tice counterpart, these ducks manage soil Fertility with their constant mashing of the rice in the paddy, thereby obstructing early weeds re growth while at the same time inducing root efficiency in the absorption of nutrients from the soil, Feeding on anything that crawls and hops become a routine task for these mighty ducks, whose excretion increases nitrogen content in the soll This manual is the synthesis of the author's 12 year passion for ducks and their transcending role to soil fertility, pest management, increasing rice yield, and most importantly, its impact to environment! Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan Rice-Duck Program Director PARFUND Edition Philippine Agrarian Reform Foundation for National Development. December 2009 Text and Final Editing - Shiela Mandaguay : Jasmin G, Fabe = JackAlingasa 7 Jose Apollo Y, Pacamalan Photography : Jose Apollo Pacamalan : Shiela Mandaguay - Armando Bantolinao orders Copies of this Manual can be ordered from PARFUND Rice-Duck Program, Postal Address: ‘Unit 108, Sterten Place 116 MaginhawaStreet, Teachers Village, East Diliman, Quezon City, L101 Philippines Telephone Number: (+632) 433-6999 Cellphone Number: +63908-8626631 Telefax: (+632) 920-5168 Email: ‘Condominium ‘parfund@ yahoo. com orTABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page Number The Conventional Farming System in the Philippines 4 The Traditional form of Rice and Duck Farming 5 The Integrated Rice-Duck Farming System 6 Weed Control 7 Pest Management 8 Stimulation Effect 9 Fertilization Effect 10 Extent of Reach of the Rice-Duck Farms in Mindanao i113 Basic Practices in Integrated Rice-Duck Farming 14 Materials needed 15 Duck Inclusion / Net Installation 16 Duck Sourcing 17 Brooding } 18 First Lesson / Practice Swimming 19 Field Release - Familiarization — 20 Field Release — Field Exploration / Full Immersion 21 Feeding the Ducks 22 Duck Housing 23 Important Points to Remember 25-27 Other Benefits 28 -29 Monitoring Tool 30 Cost Comparison 31 Some Myths About the Ducks 32 I gf iE ri}The Philippines has around 1.5 million hectares of rice lands. Conventional farming system is the most widely used rice farm- ing technology in the country. Figure 1 and 2 show rice farmers applying pesticides and fertilizers in rice. eke Synthetic inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, mulluscide and the like are massively applied to attain higher yield. As a result, health and the envi- ronment are put into greater risks and farmers expenditures limit the economic viability of rice farming.Figure 3. Young boy pasturing the ducks after harvesting Photo Credit: JAYP Duck production is traditional and backyard in scale, Duck herd are_re- leased to rice field after harvest and before transplanting of rice (see figure 3,4 and 5). After transplanting, ducks are re- moved from the rice field and moved to other newly harvested rice fields. In this way, the ducks’ function in the field is very limited to controlling golden snails.The Rice-Duck farming System is originally developed in Japan and is now gaining popularity in Mindanao (Philippines) with PARFUND as the main implementer of the system. Ducks when released to rice field at aright time will provide beneficial ef- fects in rice Production. Figure 6 below shows the myriad functions of ducks in rice production system. ) laborious tasks in the field. Good for Environment and Health (No Synthetic inputs) Diminish women’s Guaranteed cer Increase in Yield Additional and aiid | alternative source of bis | food and income from Figure 6. The Myriad functions of ducks in rice production. This figure is a modified version from Dr. Takao Furuno- The founder of rice-duck farming system __ duck eggs and meat.Weeds that are grown-up can be controlled by the bigger ducks by spreading the duck feeds directly to the weeds. The ducks control weeds in three ways by: * Directly eating the seeds of the weeds; * Eating the weeds; newly sprouted * Stepping on and walking over the newly sprouting weeds . Rice paddies that have no water will inhibit the ducks from con- trolling the weeds. Water should cover the entire rice paddies for ducks to be efficient in weed man- agement. Figure 7 and 8 show ducklings doing the weeding op- eration in rice field. Figure 8. Rice field with ducks controlling the weedsFigure 9. Eggs of golden Figure 10 . Duckling extending its neck to catch insect pest i tl Ducks are very efficient in insect pest management . They ate all forms of insects in the rice fields by chasing them and extending their necks to reach pests that are present in rice stem and leaves. Worms, bugs, stem borer, green leaf hopper, golden snails among others are among the best choices of ducks for eating. Releasing the ducks in all rice areas will ensure that destructive insects will be minimized if not eliminated. Ducklings are better in pest control compared to the mature ducks. Figure 9 shows the eggs of Golden snail that when hatched will be one of the favorite feed for ducklings. Figure 10 shows the duckling extend- ing its neck to catch insect on the rice leaves. oT Te erYN geet a \ ii I) Figure 11. Comparison of rice plant: with synthetic inputs, organic without ducks and organic with ducks . The paddling movements of the ducks, the shaking effects of its bodies when bumping the rice plant during swimming and the beak touching the stem during insect feeding provide stimulation to the rice thereby producing healthy and abun- dant rice-tillers. In principle, the higher is the number of tillers- the greater is the yield. iM Seer eT E RVR Tat te Figure 12. Rice produces massive tillers when grown simultaneously with ducks.Fertiliza The hundreds of ducks released in the rice field provide direct organic fertilizer application from their manures mixed during the swimming and paddling ac- tivities. This will provide regular nutrient re- quirements needed by rice plant to pro- duce higher yield. With the technology, the yield is expect- ed to increase by 5% -10% during the first year of duck integration and up to 30% increase during the third year. Figure 13. Rice with ducks growing massively t Photo Credit: Shiela Mandaguay r 4 keen N edExtent of Reach of the Integrated Rice-Duck Farming in Mindanao Figure 14 A,B and C. Rice duck farming in different parts of Mindanao The Integrated Rice-Duck farming Tech- nology is now widely gaining popularity in Mindanao as PARFUND works in partnership with LGUs, NGOs, farmers organizations, academe, financing insti- tutions and interested individuals. Figure 14 A,B and C and figure 15 A,B, C and D (on the next page) show the different areas of rice duck farms in Mindanao. The rice-duck farming technology is seen as the strategy to attain rice suffi- ciency in the country.' HamboaneaeltSurd Figure 15 A,B, C.and D Rice duck farming in different parts of MindanaoFigure 16 A. Ducklings being acclimatized in water on the 3rd day from hatching. | | eeae . cert. ae Figure 16 B, show the perfect combination of the 3 days old duckling and the rice seedlings ready for transplanting. Figure 16 C. Two weeks old ducklings busy doing their work in the rice field. LY YT — Ducks provide natural fertilizer to the soil, control insect pests, remove the weeds, regularly cultivate the soil and stimulate the rice plant to produce more rice tillers. By releasing a 3-4 day old ducklings in the rice field 5 days after transplanting, farmers. will no longer apply synthetic inputs because the ducks presence will replace them. As a result, rice farmers can expect a 10% - 30% increase in yield in three years time.The basic practices of Integrated rice- duck farming technology will serve as a general guide for those who will be in- volved in the implementation and moni- toring of the technology. It is important to remember that the technology is not fixed hence, farmer may innovate based from these general guidelines. Figure 17 A,B, C and D show the different innova- tions of farmers in implementing rice- duck farming. Figure 17 A,B,C and D. Different farmers innovation in rice duck farmingA. Materials to be prepared prior to the duck release are the following: * 150 heads of ducklings * 2.5 rolls of nets for inclusion (which will cover 1ha) * Rope #5 (400 m) and tie wire (.5 kg) * Bamboo sticks for post * Locally available materials for duck housing * Waterer (either plastic or made of bamboo poles) * Brooding box Figure 18 A,B and C. Materials needed for rice-duck farmingbard Orr teeN Sd The nets are held upright by posts, nylon and tie-wire to keep them from sagging. Other duck inclusion can be used using indigenous materials available in the lo- cality. Figure 19 A,B&C show the rice fields enclosed with nets. | (After harvest, the nets are removed and stored for use for the next cropping season. The net can be recycled for a maximum of 10 cropping) Figure 19 A,B and C. Rice fields enclosed with nets, ready for duck releaseI. Duckling Sourcing (Quality, Quantity and Timing) Availability of quality and healthy duck- lings (130-150 heads) which will be re- leased to a hectare rice field is one of the most important factors to consider in this technology. It is advisable that the day-old ducklings will be transported to the farmers field for brooding activity. Delaying the de- livery of ducklings after hatching will increase the risk of mortality. Sexing of the ducklings is not necessary because both male and female ducklings have the same function in the rice field. To ensure proper timing, day old duck- lings should be delivered to the farmers field during the start of the rice trans- planting activity | | | Serer vad Figure 20 A and B. Sourcing of ducklings from the local balut maker in BukidnonII. Brooding (Day 1-3) A day to 3 days after hatching, ducklings must be placed in a brooding box with equal partitions to prevent trampling over the smaller ducklings during sleep- ing (fig 21 A). Brooding box must be covered with sacks of cloth during the evening with electric bulb at the center. In the absence of electric bulb, lamp is necessary. Water should be available at all times in place where ducklings for drinking (not for swimming, figure 21B). Feeding should be done 3 times a day at a rate of 1 kg/day of chick booster. Innovate your own “duck call” so that herding them won’t be a problem. Ducks will respond to your “call” upon hearing it. ; Figure 21 A and B. Brooding of ducklingsIIL. First Lesson - Practice Swimming (Day 3 -5) Acclimatize the ducklings into the rice field on the third day. Allow them to swim around the small portion of newly transplanted rice (enclosed with net around 4mx5m) for 5 — 10 minutes. See to it that the water is enough for ducks to swim and walk (figure 22A). Remove the ducklings from the water after 5-10 minutes and allow them to dry for 3-5 hours. During this time, feeds should be available (figure 22 B). When the ducklings are completely dry, allow them to go back for practice swim- ming for another 2 — 3 hours (figure 22C). When the sun sets, ducklings must re- turned to the brooding box. On the 4th and Sth day, allow the ducks to be released freely in a small portion | of rice area ( 4m x 5 m enclosed with nets) . Always check and maintain the | water level for ducks to walk and swim. RT IE a Figure 22 A,B and C. Ducklings during their first lesson - swimmingTenens p wae IV. Familiarization (Day 6 - 12) From 6th day up to 12th day, open the enclosed portion and allow to ducklings to swim freely into the entire blocks of rice paddies (but not to the entire rice area — see figure 23 A and B) . Water level should enough for ducklings to both walk and swim. Feeding should be twice a day , one in the morning before releasing the ducks and another one in the afternoon at a rate of 2 kg of chick booster/day. During the evening, electric bulb or lamp is no longer necessary but duck house has to be enclosed with sacks or cloth to keep them ducklings warm. + Figure 23 A and B. Ducklings are allowed to explore outside the nets used for swimming practice.V. Field Exploration and Full Immersion of Ducklings (Day 12- onward) Allow the ducklings to cross into another blocks of rice everyday. This time, the ducklings are allowed to explore all the tice areas to eat insects, weeds and weed seeds, mudding the soil and fertilizing it with their manure (figure 24A). The efficiency of ducklings to provide myriad contributions to rice production is dependent on the number of ducklings and the capability to cover the entire cor- ners of the rice fields daily (figure 24 B and C) Water level should be regularly checked (enough for ducks to swim and walk). Figure 24 A,B and C. Ducklings are allowed to explore the entire area, crossing dikes within the rice fieldVI. The Duck Diet Chick Booster is necessary during the first three weeks . Mixing the commercial feeds with corn / tice bran in necessary during the fourth week to prepare the ducklings for the alternative feeds. On the second month, alternative feeds must be developed by the farmers to keep the cost of feeds at an affordable level. It is recommended that farmers must start growing Azollae in small ponds near the rice field (figure 24 B). It will serve as alternative source of food for the ducks. Ducks will eat green plants like chopped Photo Credi Kangkong / Azollae / banana trunk ag mixed with rice/corn bran. - Do not overfeed the ducks. They have to find 50% - 60% of their diet from the tice field (golden snails, weeds, green plants, insects among others) and in the process, beneficial effects to rice will be provided. Figure 25 A,B and C. Feeding the ducks with chopped banana trunk coated with rice bran RRFigure 26 A and B. Different type of duck housing made by farmers Ducks Need Shelter Ducks should be put in a housing that would keep them dry and safe from pred- ators, with space enough for them to move so that smaller ducklings will not be trampled over or squeezed by the bigger ones. Duck housing need not be very expen- sive. Materials readily available in the area can be used. Different farmers build duck houses accordingly to what they think is appropriate for them. Figure 26 A&B are type of duck housing made by farmers.Figure 27 A,B and C. Different types of duck housing and flooring to keep the ducks dry Keep Them Dry The shed should allow room for ducks to grow. In building a duck house, consider- ation should be given to the time when mature female ducks will lay their eggs. The floor should be designed in such a way that when ducks lay their eggs, the eggs will not break or crack. Duck housing should be durable since the ducks are kept here every night after working in the fields ev- eryday.1. Mortality. Mortality of ducklings is inevitable during the first month of integration, Minimizing mortality at 10% or below will ensure that the effects of ducks to the rice production is maintained. High mortality rate happens most of the time from day old up to 1 month old. Proper brooding, housing, feeding, enclosing the duck house with sacks in the evening, proper water management and close monitoring of ducklings during the first month are among the basic things to consider to make rice-duck technology work. 2. One farmer = One innovation. There is no uniform practice in rice-duck farming technology. Each farmer practitioner have different form of specific innovations appropriate to specific sites. Farmers are en- courage to innovate and document their learning's for other farmers who are yet to prac- tice the technology. 3. Keep the feeds at an affordable level. Farmers are required to established Kuhol production, Azollae, Kangkong and the like to ensure that feeding the ducks is not too expensive. 4. Do Not Cuddle your Ducks Ducks are your most loyal and industrious workers in the field. They can work better if they are taken care of but do not overfeed them. Overfeeding the ducks will make them dependent and may no longer be interested to cover all the corners of rice field. 5. Convergence of different ages (ducklings and adult) Different ages of ducks have different roles to play in the rice field. The small ducks are very efficient in pest management and the big ducks are effective in fertilizing the soil. Producing / buying ducklings every planting season is necessary so that big ducks and the small ducks (ducklings) will work hand in hand in the rice field. It is recommended that farmers has to maintain 50% small ducks and 50% adult ducks ratio of 200 — 300 ducks during the succeeding cropping season. 6. Duck House Matters Duck house flooring must be elevated and dry during the evening. Covering the duck flooring with rice straw or rice hull and daily replacing it is necessary to make the duck house clean and dry.Important Points to Remember 7. Male or female ducks, all work efficiently in the field. Ducks regardless of its gender has the same function in the rice field. Sexing at the very early age will only stress the ducks, Maintaining the male and female ratio is suggested only during its reproductive age (4 months old). At this time excess male can now be sold in the market or slaughtered as food for the farming families. 8. Type of Ducks. The egg type ducks are the most appropriate duck (itik) for Integrated rice-duck farming.Other Benefits 1. Food Security in the Households Ducks and rice products will provide additional food and income sources to fami- lies adapting the technology. Ducks after four months will start laying eggs which will provide good sources of protein for the family. After 3 months live ducks al- teady weighed 2.5 kg — 3 kg which can be sold live in the market at 70 — 100 pesos per head. 2. Rice Sufficiency in the Country Results from the different production farms have shown that 25%-30% increase in tice production per hectare is attainable with the rice-duck technology. Among the most promising benefit in this technology is the feasibility of attaining the 16% rice sufficiency set by the national level in half the projected time frame set by the na- tional government (PhilRice). 3. Health and environment The reduction if not the elimination of synthetic inputs (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, mulluscide and the like) reduces exposure of women and children to pesticide poisoning and possible contamination of these chemicals to ground water. With the absence of pesticides, fresh water fish like tilapia, mudfish and the like can now be grown with rice-duck-fish integration. A Chinese study showed that the presence of ducks in the rice field reduces the produc- tion of methane gas. Methane is one of the main gases that contributes to the global warming. 4. Beneficial to Women Most of the laborious activities in rice production are conducted by women. The advent of this technology liberates women from their traditional and burdensome role in farming.Monitoring Tool PARFUND Monitoring Tool for Rice- Duck Farming Practitioners Frequency of Use: Every two weeks to Monthly Name of Farmer Date. Address Monitored by Seeds/ Variety planted Hectares Date Planted Date of Duck Release Number of Ducks alive. Rice stage Expected Date of harvest, Indicators Performance Standard Performance |Fact]Recomme (Scorecard) ors |ndations [A Technology Level 1. Water Enough for ducks to swim and walk (Visual Management _ observation ducks must be swimming) 2. Weed Management [0 - 3 weeds per square meter 3. Duck House [Semi permanent ( with roof, walls like bamboo ) should be covered with empty sacks during night [4. Duck house flooring [Dry — Clean flooring, Elevated from the ground 5. Dike Repair High to sustain 2-3 inches water depth, Dike repair must have been conducted during land preparation Small pond [At least 1x1 meter wide with 2 feet deep swimming Duck Management Time of Release [On or before Sunrise Feeding [Chick booster — first month with vetracin -water 2X daily Mixture of green plants, rice/corn bran / Azollae, Kohol during the succeeding months Establish azolla and kangkong pond and kuhol Prodn 3. Drinking Water [24 hours for drinking only (not for swimming) PPS 4. Net inclusion [Secured, standing, 2 feet high 5. Duck growth Month 1- at least ave. weight tof.4 kg; Month 2— Jat least 1.5 kg ave. weight; Month 3 -at least 2.5, kg_ ave. weight (6. Mortality [At least 10% or below 7, Number of ducks _ | Atleast 150 at the start up to 300 heads in perhectare _|succeeding crop, Combination of ducklings and adult 8. Rice disease Identified Diseases 9. Number of Tillers/ Atleast, Ave. 40 tillers/ hill for 10 random samples hill (Below 25 Red; 25-30 — Yellow & 40 above ~ Green) 110. Productive tillers [At least 95-100% G ; 80% -94% - Y; & Below 80% - R 11. Overall Crop stand [agreed assessment of the technicians and the farmer 12. Soil status [Soil Sample analysis Before and after Other Positive and Negative Observations: Positive Negative Performance Indicator PoorCost Comparison Farm Activities Rice-Duck Conventional 14stt crop| 24 crop | 1st crop | 2"¢ crop | 1, Land Preparations 1800 1800 1,800 1,800 2. Seed bed preparations/ Broadcasting 600 600 150 150 3. Transplanting 2,500 2,500 2500 2500 4. Cost of Herbicides - 1 quart 850. 850. 5. Cost of Bilocide for Snail 1 qrt 850 850 6. Cost of Pesticides - 3 quarts 2,250 2,250 7. Cost of Fertilizers - 6,000 6,000 3 sacks Urea 1,200/sack. 3,600 3,600 3 sacks 21-0-0_750/sack 2,250, 2,250 3 sacks Complete 1,400/sack 4,200, 4,200 1 sack 0-0-60 650/sack 650 650 8. Cost of Foliar spray - 1 quart 130 130 9, Labor of spraying 1,200 1,200 110. Cost of nets 400 m5 years / 10 crop 500 500 11. Cost of Ducklings 150 heads 4,500, 12. Net Installation 150 13. Cost of Feeds @ 200/.week 2,400 2,400 14. Cost of Seeds 600 600 1,200 1,200 Total Cost/crop season [13,050.00 8,400.00 | 27,630.00 | 27,630.00 Total in 1 year (2 crop season) 21,450.00 55,260.00Some Myths About Ducks Ducks will destroy rice in the field. — Ducks with this technology will be acquainted with the rice during their early stage and will soon develop some form of “respect” to the plant. PARFUND’s and farmers’ experiences in implementing and adapting the technology will prove that ducks do not harm rice plants. Yield — Organic rice production using duck integration will not lower down rice yield. Yield will even increase between 5%-10% per year. The highest yield so far is 7.3. tons /hectare (Taboc, Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental). KATOL-KATOL — The farmers will rarely immerse themselves in the field. The ducks will be doing the tasks farmers used to do so fear of experiencing katol-katol Average Yield Performance of Rice Duck Farms in Mindanao Tons/ha, Yield 2006 2007 2008 2009This manual is the first attempt to consolidate the actual experiences of PAR- FUND and the author in implementing the Integrated Rice-Duck Farming System in Mindanao, Philippines in partnership with Local Government Units, NGOs and POs, farmers and private individuals. Pictures used in this manual came from the different areas of rice-duck farms in Mindanao and from Dr. Takao Furuno, the Japanese founder of the technology. This Manual is intended for Rice-Duck Technicians in the Philippines who will served as the front liner in promoting and implementing the Integrated Rice-Duck Farming System in the country. Many hands have contributed to the creation of this manual. The very supportive Executive Director of PARFUND Dir. Butch Olano; Mindanao Coordinator Jas- mine G. Fabe; Communication Specialist Shiela Mandaguay; Volunteer / IEC con- sultant Jack Alingasa and the Finance and Admin team Angela Bucu the finance manager; Bernardine Villar the program officer; Anne Quides the program and Admin Assistant and Gundina Sales the finance officer. Bex Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan Rice-Duck Expert Philippine Agrarian Reform Foundation for National DevelopmentPhilippine Agrarian Reform Foundation for National Development Inc. (PARFUND)