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Download Facing a shortage of arable land, Tao Zhengrong decided to look to the skies for an answer. And he found one: on his roof. The 49-year-old farmer used the flat roof of his factory in Zhejiang province to grow 115 kilograms of rice, roughly the same amount he could have expected from a piece of land the same size. Now he is trying to get his neighbors to do the same. "Some families have already followed suit," said Tao, who is head of Chengbei village. "What most people want to know is what the output is like from an unconventional field." China is under tremendous pressure to protect its arable land, with 22 percent of the world's population relying on just 10 percent of the world's arable land. In Chengbei, where the population stands at a few thousand, the demand for better land management is pressing. The village's economy has taken off in recent years due to a flourishing car upholstery industry, with more than 100 businesses specializing in the production of car seat cushions. However, the development has been faced with the obstacle of land shortages, which has forced companies to operate out of small workshops and in residential houses, instead of a sophisticated industrial park. Only a dozen companies have formed a fair-sized operation while the others remain weak and scattered, Tao said. To resolve the problem, Tao came up with the bold idea of creating a joint development of agriculture and industry by erecting factories on farmland and planting crops on their rooftops. | 
