Hunger is an issue that is close at heart for millions of people around the world. Food shortages and lack of safe foods remain significant global problems. Countries, large and small, struggle to provide nourishment for their ever-growing populations. China, with a population of approximately 1.3 billion, is no exception. Although its’ landscape is varied with fertile plains and valleys, rugged mountains, seacoasts, and deserts, China has only 8% of the world’s arable land, land that is usable for growing crops (IFAD). This makes most of China agriculturally unproductive (Hays). The land that is usable is concentrated mostly in the river valleys along the southern and eastern coasts which limits China’s ability to provide safe nutritious
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One such practice is rice duck farming. In rice duck farming, pests and weeds are fed upon by ducks raised on rice paddies. Since the ducks do the work, the farmer doesn 't have to use chemical pesticides and herbicides on their plants. In addition, the rice plants roots get more oxygen when the ducks churn up the water with their feet. This helps to boost growth. Also, the duck droppings act as a natural fertilizer for the rice plants (Tan). Another agricultural practice is rice fish farming. In southern China, farmers have been employing rice fish farming for over 1200 years. In rice fish farming, fish are raised simultaneously with the rice paddies. The fish feed on the pests and weeds just like the ducks so there is less need for chemical pesticides and fertilizer. Inter-cropping is a popular technique used by farmers on over 2 million hectares of farmland across China. With inter-cropping, farmers grow two or more crops in close proximity of each other. This helps to reduce disease outbreaks, in particular, a destructive fungus known as rice blast disease which could destroy a farmer’s crop even before the rice grains form (Tan). Other traditional practices include legume crops for nitrogen fixation, crop rotations, terracing and the use of diverse crop varieties. (Cook). A non-ecofriendly agricultural practice used by farmers in China today is the use of pesticides and chemical
One such practice is rice duck farming. In rice duck farming, pests and weeds are fed upon by ducks raised on rice paddies. Since the ducks do the work, the farmer doesn 't have to use chemical pesticides and herbicides on their plants. In addition, the rice plants roots get more oxygen when the ducks churn up the water with their feet. This helps to boost growth. Also, the duck droppings act as a natural fertilizer for the rice plants (Tan). Another agricultural practice is rice fish farming. In southern China, farmers have been employing rice fish farming for over 1200 years. In rice fish farming, fish are raised simultaneously with the rice paddies. The fish feed on the pests and weeds just like the ducks so there is less need for chemical pesticides and fertilizer. Inter-cropping is a popular technique used by farmers on over 2 million hectares of farmland across China. With inter-cropping, farmers grow two or more crops in close proximity of each other. This helps to reduce disease outbreaks, in particular, a destructive fungus known as rice blast disease which could destroy a farmer’s crop even before the rice grains form (Tan). Other traditional practices include legume crops for nitrogen fixation, crop rotations, terracing and the use of diverse crop varieties. (Cook). A non-ecofriendly agricultural practice used by farmers in China today is the use of pesticides and chemical