Efficient use of energy through organic rice–duck mutualism system

Abstract

Industrial agriculture is not efficient anymore due in particular to the use of nonrenewable energy such as fossil fuels. Organic agriculture is an alternative system that aims to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, pesticides, and mineral fertilizers. Animal–crop systems present potential mutual benefits, but such systems have been rarely studied quantitatively. Here, we compare energy inputs and outputs of organic rice–duck farming with conventional rice production in Mazandaran province, Iran. Our results show that the global energy input of organic rice–duck, 79,307 MJ ha−1, is lower than that of conventional rice, 94,377 MJ ha−1. On the contrary, the energy output of organic rice–duck, 117,325 MJ ha−1, is higher than that of conventional rice, 111,914 MJ ha−1. The most used energy was fuel, amounting to 40 % of total energy for organic rice–duck and 33 % for conventional rice. Then, machinery consumed 25 % of total energy for organic rice–duck and 20 % for conventional rice. Then, fertilizers consumed 20 % of total energy in the form of organic fertilizers for organic rice–duck versus 16 % in the form of mineral fertilizers for conventional rice. Overall, our findings show that organic rice–duck farming has more energy efficiency than conventional rice farming.