Drone footage showed rice paddies covered in a deep red carpet of Azolla ferns, used by farmers to increase soil fertility and eaten by ducks, chickens and even fish as food.

The ferns, which float on water, grow naturally on the stagnant water of rice paddies in Indonesia.

This footage was filmed in Batusangkar, West Sumatra Province, on August 20.

Locals release their ducks in paddy fields that are overgrown with ferns, as they like to eat the ferns.

In other areas, farmers cultivate Azolla as an alternative feed for poultry and fish, because it contains a lot of protein.

Azolla ferns can also be sold for 15,000-35,000 rupiah (1-2.3 US dollars) per kilogram.

Azolla ferns that grow wildly make rice fields in Indonesia look like they are covered in a red carpet.

Footage filmed in Batusangkar, West Sumatra Province, on August 20, shows drone footage of rice fields overgrown with Azolla ferns.

The locals release their ducks in the paddy fields overgrown with ferns. Some residents use this dark red fern to feed fish.

In some other areas, farmers cultivate Azolla, a type of grass weed that floats on water to be used as alternative feed for poultry and fish because it contains a lot of protein.

Azolla ferns can also be sold at a price of 15,000 - 35,000 rupiah per kilogram.

Azolla floats on the surface of water by means of numerous small, closely overlapping scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water.