You know what they say: If an infinite number of monkeys sat at an infinite number of typewriters, one of them would write "Hamlet."
Well, now it turns out that if a lot of ducks are let loose in a rice paddy, you get a better crop without resorting to pesticides.The technological breakthrough was recently revealed to the scientific community by its discoverer, Takao Furano - a rice farmer from Keisen, Fukuoka Prefecture in western Japan.
Furano is waiting to reveal details of the secret to scientists at the five-day U.N.-sponsored VACVINA conference opening Nov. 15 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The ducks must be "aigamo" ducks, a Japanese variety crossbred from wild and domestic species. The ducks, it seems, can be trained to eat weeds and certain harmful insects inhabiting rice paddies.
Not only that, but the ducks' droppings serve to fertilize the growing rice plants.
Since announcing his discovery, Furano has been traveling the world teaching farmers how to make a better rice bowl.
He visited Vietnam in March to teach his method firsthand, and proved he is no quack. Vietnamese rice fields farmed with Furano's method produced yields as great as one-third larger than those farmed with agricultural chemicals.
Furano will use the VACVINA conference as a forum to show the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations that his can-do ducks can help increase world production of a vital staple.