SouthAfrica’s viniculture industry employs around 270,000 people, producing some-组卷网

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South Africa’s viniculture industry employs around 270,000 people, producing some of the world’s most sought-after wines. But not all jobs are best left to humans. In some cases, it’s better to get your ducks in a row, and then put them to work.

Outside Cape Town on the banks of the Eerste river, Vergenoegd Löw, the Wine Estate, has repurposed a centuries-old practice by gathering a group of ducks to keep its vineyards free of pests. “I call our ducks the soldiers of our vineyards,” says managing director Corius Visser. “They will eat aphids, they will eat snails, they will eat small worms—they keep (it) completely pest-free.”

The species, the Indian runner duck, is flightless, with a peculiarly upright stance and highly developed sense of smell. The duck troops are employed on a 14-day circuit through the vineyards, eating and fertilizing the ground as they go.

The ducks’ “annual leave” takes place during the harvest (they’d eat the grapes). During this time they search for food on open farm pasture, swim in a nearby lake and undergo selective breeding, says Visser.

Duck eggs are consumed in the vineyard restaurant, but never the ducks themselves—“that would be like eating a colleague,” Gavin Moyes, the estate’s tasting room manager, said in a 2020 interview.

Inspired by ducks used to remove pests from rice paddies in Asia, the winery calls on the services of some 1,600 ducks as part of its effort to make wine production more sustainable. “The world is moving away from more conventional farming to (being) a bit more organic,” Visser explains. “For Vergenoegd, it’s a big goal … to have less influence on the Earth, the soil and the environment.”

As a pioneering winemaker with industry influence—vines have been grown on the estate since the late 17th century—Vergenoegd Löw is hoping to convince others to adopt its approach. Visser says the vineyard plans to sell 750 ducks to other vineyards and replenish numbers by breeding the birds.

“I think the industry itself has the potential to engage more in experimental ways,” he adds. That requires money, and increasing the price point of South African wines could help fund Vergenoegd Löw and other vineyards’ green initiatives.

“If we can achieve that, we can then put back some of that (income) into our people, into our land, and become more sustainable,” Visser says.

【小题1】What’s the function of the ducks in the vineyards?

A．To keep the vineyards free of pests.	B．To guard the vineyards from thieves.
C．To make the vineyards more attractive.	D．To provide eggs and meat for the vineyard restaurant.

【小题2】According to the passage, the ducks in the vineyards ______.