Rice farming

[Aeson]

A turtle (I'm assuming you aren't really into animal husbandry) costs P50k with the engine and takes about a liter of diesel to run an hour. P50/hr. Takes about 16 hours for a hectare. So P800/ha. You'll also have to replace the belts about .1 times per hectare. P50/ha. It's good to put on about 5 bags Urea (P5k) and 5 bags 14-14-14 (P5.5k) per hectare (not all at once!). Depends on soil analysis though. You'll also need to change the oil (P500) and bearings (P200) on average once per season. You also may need to transport the Turtle (though this sounds like some sort of compound-based operation, so you're probably very centrally located).

Cleaning the rice fields works well with a trimmer. P18k and .5 liters per hour. Probably 10 hours per hectare (depends on the paddy layout).

Transplanting the rice takes about 15 worker days per hectare. Going rate is P150-200/day plus snacks and lunch.

You will need to spray some 2-4D and Ester to keep down the broadleaf weeds once the rice is established.

You may need a pump to irrigate the rice fields. P15k. This is probably a better solution than to have rice fields that are irrigated naturally, as they are more likely to get flooded out now and again.

Since you have clones you may find that paying the guys (or gals, you didn't specify) is a difficult thing to sort out. There will be riots when some of your clones don't get paid and others get double or triple paid. (Remember that you need energetic clones otherwise they won't be good laborers.) A security guard makes about P300/day, but you'll need to buy the shotguns and uniforms. I'm not really familiar with these costs. 1 shotgun per 10 clones should be enough to keep them in line. (This is an estimate. I have no first hand experience with clone riots.)

You're going to have to go out there and check on things to make sure the clones are doing their work. This means you'll be bitten by fire ants. The ants can cause some nasty blisters until you become accustomed to them (took me about a year) and the blisters will get infected (these are rice paddies after all) and so you should keep plenty of antibiotics around. Amoxicilin (which is used to treat everything) is P3/capsule. You can get a massage (which is also used to treat everything) for P50. (It's not a naughty one, sorry.) Say P3/day for the medicine and P50/week for the massage. Or you could pave your rice fields. (This will negatively effect yields, and you will probably still get bit unless you're careful.) I've killed about 100 trillion fire ants with my Sevin/Juice cocktails, but there's always more.

You need to watch out for malaria and/or dengue ridden mosquitoes too. I would suggest one of those star wars laser arrays, as I think it will go well with the rest of your clone theme. Constructing one that covers several hectares of rice paddies may be somewhat expensive though. You could try "off", but it won't work. Burning coconut husks does a good job of keeping the mosquitoes away, but if you go for complete coverage you'll want a respirator and "Eye-mo" to help relieve the sore eyes. You can't buy a good respirator here, so make sure to pack one in your bags. You can buy "Eye-mo". P20 or so. It just makes my eyes hurt more so I don't use it.

I hope this helps you in your quest. (Even though you say you don't need help with the cloning... I would suggest not cloning yourself as that will probably make the command hierarchy difficult to keep straight. It will also make it less likely that the clones are sexy, though that is just a statistical statement as I do not know what you look like.)

[Aeson]

why the **** is my "staff" showing? *embarrassed*

[Cort Haus]

Just discretely tuck it into your trousers. It'll be fine.

[Dinner]

It would be much more profitable to just become a pimp and pimp out your army of clones.

[Lorizael]

A turtle (I'm assuming you aren't really into animal husbandry) costs P50k with the engine and takes about a liter of diesel to run an hour. P50/hr. Takes about 16 hours for a hectare. So P800/ha. You'll also have to replace the belts about .1 times per hectare. P50/ha. It's good to put on about 5 bags Urea (P5k) and 5 bags 14-14-14 (P5.5k) per hectare (not all at once!). Depends on soil analysis though. You'll also need to change the oil (P500) and bearings (P200) on average once per season.

That sounds great. What's a turtle?

You also may need to transport the Turtle (though this sounds like some sort of compound-based operation, so you're probably very centrally located).

I'll be doing this in a terraformed bit of paradise in the middle of a giant desert.

You may need a pump to irrigate the rice fields. P15k. This is probably a better solution than to have rice fields that are irrigated naturally, as they are more likely to get flooded out now and again.

There will definitely be pumping; natural water is scarce.

Since you have clones you may find that paying the guys (or gals, you didn't specify) is a difficult thing to sort out.

Neither! They're being grown without sex organs.

There will be riots when some of your clones don't get paid and others get double or triple paid. (Remember that you need energetic clones otherwise they won't be good laborers.) A security guard makes about P300/day, but you'll need to buy the shotguns and uniforms. I'm not really familiar with these costs. 1 shotgun per 10 clones should be enough to keep them in line. (This is an estimate. I have no first hand experience with clone riots.)

Good to know, but probably won't be an issue. My clones have no concept of money, they're naturally docile, and they take on the behaviors of those around them, so new clones will just start farming when they see all the other clones farming.

You're going to have to go out there and check on things to make sure the clones are doing their work. This means you'll be bitten by fire ants. The ants can cause some nasty blisters until you become accustomed to them (took me about a year) and the blisters will get infected (these are rice paddies after all) and so you should keep plenty of antibiotics around. Amoxicilin (which is used to treat everything) is P3/capsule. You can get a massage (which is also used to treat everything) for P50. (It's not a naughty one, sorry.) Say P3/day for the medicine and P50/week for the massage. Or you could pave your rice fields. (This will negatively effect yields, and you will probably still get bit unless you're careful.) I've killed about 100 trillion fire ants with my Sevin/Juice cocktails, but there's always more.

You need to watch out for malaria and/or dengue ridden mosquitoes too. I would suggest one of those star wars laser arrays, as I think it will go well with the rest of your clone theme. Constructing one that covers several hectares of rice paddies may be somewhat expensive though. You could try "off", but it won't work. Burning coconut husks does a good job of keeping the mosquitoes away, but if you go for complete coverage you'll want a respirator and "Eye-mo" to help relieve the sore eyes. You can't buy a good respirator here, so make sure to pack one in your bags. You can buy "Eye-mo". P20 or so. It just makes my eyes hurt more so I don't use it.

Lovely.

I hope this helps you in your quest. (Even though you say you don't need help with the cloning... I would suggest not cloning yourself as that will probably make the command hierarchy difficult to keep straight. It will also make it less likely that the clones are sexy, though that is just a statistical statement as I do not know what you look like.)

Nope, not based on myself. They are of Chinese stock. And sexy isn't an issue.

Thanks!

[Cort Haus]

Lorizael, you might want to listen to this song about clones - Spirit of the Age by Hawkwind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSR5TnNGKmo

I would've liked you to have been deep frozen too
and waiting still as fresh in your flesh for my return to Earth
But your father refused to sign the forms to freeze you
Let's see you'd be about 60 now,
and long dead by the time I return to Earth
My time held dreams were full of you,
as you were when I left; still underage
Your android replica is playing up again, it's no joke
When she comes she moans another's name
But that's the spirit of the age,
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
Ah, the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
Ah, the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age

I am a clone, I am not alone
Every fibre of my flesh and bone is identical to the others
Everything I say is in the same tone
as my test tube brother's voice

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/spirit-of-the-age-lyrics-hawkwind.html ]

There is no choice between us,
If you had ever seen us,
You'd rejoice in your uniqueness
and consider every weakness something special of your own
Being a clone, I have no flaws to identify
Even this doggerel that pours from my pen,
has just been written by another twenty telepathic men,
Oh, word for word, it says:
"Oh, for the wings of any bird, other than a battery hen".
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
That's the spirit of the age
It's just the spirit of the age
It's just the spirit of the age
It's just the spirit of the age
It's just the spirit of the age

[Lorizael]

Awesome. That'll be their work song.

[C0ckney]

hawkwind

[MikeH]

If you can terraform a bit of desert:

1. There's still not going to be a lot of water, you'd think that many other less water intensive crops would be a good choice, even if you are fully efficient and never lose any water it's a lot of water to be tied up in a field.
2. There's technology around or being designed to fully automate rice production. If you have the technology to terraform a desert you'd be able to automate so much you'd only need a couple of people to run it probably.
3. If you did need bulk labour I can't see how making and training clones could be cheaper than either automation or shipping in ready made peasants with the skills you need.

[Lorizael]

If you can terraform a bit of desert:

1. There's still not going to be a lot of water, you'd think that many other less water intensive crops would be a good choice, even if you are fully efficient and never lose any water it's a lot of water to be tied up in a field.

For reasons that aren't terribly relevant here, we've already invested too much money in rice production to switch to another crop.

2. There's technology around or being designed to fully automate rice production. If you have the technology to terraform a desert you'd be able to automate so much you'd only need a couple of people to run it probably.

Very much true, but I'm dealing with a cultural prejudice against automation, so I have to go with flesh and blood laborers. Additionally, this is kind of a test run to see if I can train an army of clones to do a complicated task. Theoretically, they should be able to learn many other tasks as well and be far more adaptable than any sort of robot would be. If this works, I can sell the clones.

3. If you did need bulk labour I can't see how making and training clones could be cheaper than either automation or shipping in ready made peasants with the skills you need.

In addition to there being a water shortage, there's also a labor shortage we're dealing with here. A lot of people have died of starvation, moved to cities, been killed in regional conflicts, or left for more fertile lands. Also, we're trying to cultivate a more positive image of ourselves than we've had in the past, so we don't want to force the populace to be farmers.

[MikeH]

If it's a choice between being a farmer and starving I think you'd have a lot of volunteers. Anyway, seems like you have things covered.

And SF (and the film Antz) has taught me that trying to breed 'docile' clones never works, and sooner or later you get a clone Spartacus. You'd think people would know that.

[Lorizael]

As long as we can keep the clones away from the general population, we should be okay. If people were to find out what we were doing, however, and the clones were to get free, we could be in for a lot of trouble. Oh boy.

[MikeH]

I guess the probability of that is ~ 1

[Lorizael]

Bah! You're just a naysayer. I'm sure things will all work out. And we'll be rich!

[MikeH]

Are you going to make the clones sterile and have a greedy computer programmer? Jurriceic Park