China is moving away from dependence on ponds and water for duck farming. In Xinxing, Guangdong Province, private companies are producing meat ducks through local farmers and making quick financial gains.

There is no need for ducks to roam natural or man-made ponds, and no worry about keeping them indoors in the dry season. Nor is there much technical sophistication: in ordinary sheds, ducks are raised like chickens on slatted floors of bamboo, wood or net.

From day-old ducklings, birds are kept in a nursery farm until a certain age, then moved to another shed until marketing. Farmer Zhou, an entrepreneur in Xinxing, said raising this fast-growing breed is quite profitable.

Production is based on contracts between farmers and companies. The company provides all the investment, and the farmer's only job is supervision.

Source: Shykh Seraj, Hridoye Mati O Manush. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.