"The integrated (IRDF), in which ducks feed on insects and weeds in paddies and fertilise rice plants, has been a flagship of Asian sustainable-agriculture movements. ... Asia accounted for about 90% of 672 million metric tonnes of rice produced in the world as of 2010 (FAO, 2012b). Rice farming in Asia used to be characterised by small scale, labour-intensiveness and on-site recycling of green and animal manures. Although rice farming is still labour-intensive in remote areas of Asian developing countries, it has rapidly been mechanised and agrochemicals-intensive in the name of agricultural modernisation and . In fact, the so-called green revolution has largely resulted from industrial monoculture, genetically modified crops and the overuse of s, which caused agricultural land degradation globally (Roberts, 2008). ... In the IRDF system, ducks are released into rice fields after seedling transplantation. The most recognised strength of IRDF is the synergy of co-producing rice and ducks on the same track of land. Expectably, ducks peck at insects, control the germination of weeds by stirring up paddy water, and provide organic matters for the growth of rice plants. Thus, IRDF makes it possible to fatten ducks, economising on weeds and insects in rice paddies, and obtain greater rice yields."