Growing rice on a rooftop may sound odd, but Dr Nafisa Jahan has shown it can be done. Out of a hobby, the director of the Barishal Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) has caused a stir by growing rice on the roof of her workplace, after earlier growing sugarcane there.

The institute, which carries out medical research, grew the high-quality Kalijira variety of chinigura rice in plastic bottles on its roof as a trial, largely as a hobby, and succeeded at the first attempt. Entrepreneurs in Barishal are delighted by the rooftop rice and its success.

At the institute's building, every cluster of the rice plants grown in more than 500 oil bottles is hanging with grain. Dr Nafisa Jahan and the garden's gardener, Anwar Hossain, expect to get about 50 kg of rice from it.

Gardener Anwar Hossain told Jagonews: "There was some soil on the roof. Rather than throw it away, I thought of growing some rice in bottles. With the director's permission and advice, I decided to cut discarded oil bottles and grow rice in them. I planted rice in more than 500 plastic bottles from just 1 kg of seed. Now every cluster has grain, and we will get about 50 kg of rice."

"Growing rice in a field needs a lot of things. On the roof I used only a pair of scissors; no other equipment was needed. Growing rice on the roof does not feel bad at all now. The garden looks even better than flowers and fruit. It has given a different kind of joy. In the next few days the ripe fragrant Kalijira paddy planted on the roof will be harvested using modern methods," Anwar added.

The institute's administrative officer, Mahatab Uddin Al Mahabub, said: "Alongside providing medical care, the institute's director Nafisa Jahan has earned wide praise for growing flowers, fruit and vegetables in the rooftop garden to keep the environment healthy. Since news of the rooftop rice spread, everyone has been coming to see it."

Dr Nafisa Jahan, chief medical officer and director of INMAS Barishal, told Jagonews: "I have not heard of rice being grown on a rooftop on such a large scale anywhere else in the country. Someone might plant one or two for fun, but no one has dared to grow so many seedlings or such a large paddy field on a roof."

"The full credit for such a big initiative goes to those who look after the garden. Two- and five-litre water and oil bottles were used to plant the seedlings, with three to four seedlings placed in the cut part of each bottle," she said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.