Takao Furuno facts for kids
Takao Furuno (born in 1950) is a Japanese farmer and a helpful person who started a special way of farming. He is famous for pioneering the "duck-rice farming" method, known as aigamo in Japan.
Contents
Who is Takao Furuno?
Takao Furuno was born in 1950 and lives in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. This is a farming area in the western part of Japan. He is a small farmer who began using organic farming methods in 1978. Organic farming means growing food without harmful chemicals. He was inspired by a famous book called Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This book made him think about how chemicals affect nature. He also earned a PhD from Kyushu University.
What is Aigamo Farming?
After ten years of organic farming, Furuno learned about an old Japanese way of growing rice. This method used ducks to help control weeds in the rice fields. It's called the "Aigamo Method."
When young ducks (called ducklings) are put into rice paddies, they do many helpful things:
- They provide natural plant food (like compost) for the rice.
- They swim around, which helps put air into the water. This makes the rice plants stronger.
- They eat weeds and insects that could harm the rice.
How Takao Furuno Improved Aigamo Farming
Takao Furuno's first try with the aigamo method worked, but he faced some problems. One year, a disease ruined all his crops. For three years, dogs ate his ducks until he put up electric fences. Then, big birds like birds of prey would fly down to catch his ducks for a meal.
But Furuno kept watching and learning. He found out the best time to put ducklings in the fields (when they were 7 days old). He also learned how many ducks were needed for a certain area (15-30 ducks for every tenth of a hectare). He also figured out when to take the ducks out (after 8 weeks) so they wouldn't start eating the rice.
Through his experiments, he also discovered that adding small freshwater fish called loaches and a special water plant called Azolla helped the rice and ducks grow even better. These also gave the ducks more food. He also strung wires across the fields to keep the birds of prey away.
By 1989, he had made the aigamo method a strong and natural way to farm rice and ducks. It was a system that other farmers could easily use. Today, Furuno grows crops without chemicals. His harvests are as good as, or even better than, those from farms using old chemical methods.
Furuno has also successfully sold his "duck rice." It sells for 20-30% more than regular rice in Japan and other countries. His farm is about 3.2 hectares (about 8 acres) and produces rice, organic vegetables, eggs, ducks, and ducklings.
Spreading the Aigamo Method
Through his writings, travels, and talks, Takao Furuno has shared his methods with many people. He has worked with farming groups and governments. His ideas have spread to over 75,000 farmers in many countries, including Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran, and Cuba.
Using the aigamo method helps farmers in many ways:
- They earn more money.
- They have less hard work to do.
- It is better for the environment.
- It helps make sure there is enough food for everyone in the area.
When the ducks are no longer needed in the fields, they can be used for food or sold. This adds even more money and protein for the farming families. Farmers using the aigamo method also have more free time to spend with their families or do other things. In the past, removing weeds by hand from rice fields took about 240 hours of work for every hectare each year!
See also
In Spanish: Takao Furuno para niños
