He began to place rice seedlings on a 133-square-meter rooftop of his six-floor factory in May. The rooftop was covered with 25-cm-deep soil taken from the ground, and a water pipeline was used for irrigation.
"There's no special treatment of the rooftop prior to the cultivation," Tao said. Compared with the cultivation on traditional land, it requires less energy to attend the crop and used less pesticide, he added.
"There's no problem of water leaking into the building or any obstruction of the factory's operation. As a side effect, the cultivation helps cool the building down and saves the factory's air-conditioning expenses in the sweltering summer," he said.
Calling the attempt a success, Tao started preparing a second round of planting on Wednesday and shared his know-how with other interested families in the village.
"It is a completely new notion that I can grow crops on rooftops while using the land for industrial development. It might take one or two years to prove I am correct and gain approval."
However, rural affairs experts remain cool on the idea of promoting the exploitation of unconventional fields, due to concerns that it might prompt farmers to use their arable land for industrial or urban development.
Rural affairs authorities responsible for Chengbei could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
About the broadcaster:
Rosie Tuck is a copy editor at the China Daily website. She was born in New Zealand and graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Communications studies majoring in journalism and television. In New Zealand she was working as a junior reporter for the New Zealand state broadcaster TVNZ. She is in Beijing on an Asia New Zealand Foundation grant, working as a journalist in the English news department at the China Daily website.
【Rooftop rice a sky-high solution】相关文章:
★ London set for a role in yuan transactions
★ Castro urges 'ceaseless fight' against corruption
★ US state approves same-sex marriage statute
★ Obama to stress security alliance in Seoul visit
★ Bomb, gun attacks kill 107 in Iraq
★ Curiosity of a girl lands on Mars
★ Blood-lead level testing resumed amid outcry
★ Romney in control after Santorum bows out
★ Most people uneasy about what they eat
最新
2020-08-21
2020-08-20
2020-08-19
2020-08-06
2020-08-05
2020-08-05