DAVAO CITY – Not all rice fields in Mindanao are converted into banana plantations – a trend which is partly blamed to the scarcity of rice in the country.

Here, a non-government organization (NGO) is helping farmers gradually adapt to a farming technology using ducks to recover the rice industry.

The rice-duck integration, known as the Aigamo project of the Philippine Agrarian Reform Foundation for National Development (PARFUND), is slowly gaining grounds in the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur and some parts of the Caraga Region.

Jose Apollo Pacamalan, program director of the Aigamo project, said this technology uses ducks to maintain a healthy rice paddy environment which, in turn, increase rice yield and reduce production cost of rice due to non-use of pesticides.

The ducks used in paddies help the rice seedlings grow by eating both insects and weeds that get in the way.

These ducklings then stir up the soil in the rice paddy with their feet and bills, which increases the oxygen content of the soil, making it more nutritious for the seedlings.

Pacamalan said they have been pushing hard to implement the project since they believe ducks can function better than pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers.

Once the rice becomes ready for harvest, the ducks on the other hand have grown fat and could be sold in the market.

“This has lead to increase income and diversified food sources for the local people thanks to the simultaneous production of duck meat, rice and eggs (balut),” Pacamalan told the Manila Bulletin in an online interview.

Pacamalan is currently in Langolnglong, Misamis Oriental where the rice-duck farming method was demonstrated to farmers.

Hitting two birds with one stone since 2007, the Aigamo project expects to reach a 10 percent increase in yield, which would translate to 25 percent increase in three years.

“In Zamboanga del Sur, 26 hectares has been converted into rice-duck paddies while 50 hectares for Trento, Agusan del Sur,” Shiela Mandaguay, PARFUND communications officer said.

Although the technology requires much effort to stir up the acceptance of agriculture technicians and rice farmers who have become dependent on conventional rice farming technology.