Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University

Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh
A Questionnaire
on
City Dwellers Perception on Rooftop Gardening
1. Socio-demographic information

Name of the household head: Age (years): Total family members:

51 4
Md Nur Islam
Educational status (no. of schooling years): HSC Profession: Master Warrant Experience in gardening
(Years):
Officer at Bangladesh
0.5 year
Navy
Address: House no: Road no: GPS reading Phone number:
Area: Navy Hospital Gate,EPZ, Chattogram Latitude:22° 17' 28" N 01632455084
Longitude:91° 46' 32" E

2. Information regarding house structure and rooftop area

House Owner Shared owner Govt. quarter Tenant Others

ownership (appartment)
Response (√) ✓
Rooftop and land area of the Building Rooftop size Potential area in % of potential
garden size building (decimal) height (no. of (sq. ft) rooftop for roof area used
stories) gardening (sq. ft) for gardening
Response 2.5 5 435 50 11%
Purpose of Recreation Economic Nutritional Aesthetic Others (specify)
gardening
Response (√) ✓ ✓
How much daily time do you like to Below 1 hr 1- 2 hr 2-3 hr Above 3 hr
spend in your roof garden ?
Response (√) ✓

3. Status of rooftop garden (diversity, production, and contribution)

3.1 Please select the vegetable species practiced in your rooftop garden

Name (√) Prod. Name (√) Prod. (kg)/year

(kg)/year
Potato Cauliflower
Bottle guard Cabbage
White guard Red amaranth
Sweet guard Cucumber
Sponge guard Lady’s finger
Brinjal Carrot
Bean Others (if any)
Drum stick
Chilli ✓ ___
Tomato
Bitter guard
Snake guard
Spinach
Lettuce

3.2 Fruit species

Name (√) Prod. (kg)/year Name (√) Prod. (kg)/year
Mango Pomegranate
Jackfruit Lime
Orange Grape
Apple Dates
Banana Lotkon
Strawberry Others (if any)
Pear
Sapota
Jujube
Hog plum
Wood apple
Papaya

3.3 Spices and condiments

Name (√ Prod. (kg)/year Name (√) Prod. (kg)/year

)
Onion Others (if any)
Garlic
Ginger
Coriander

3.5 Flowers and ornamental plants

Name (√) Name (√) Name (√) Name (√)

Rose Sheuily Bonsai
Aster Marigold ✓ Others (if any)
Beli Tuberose
Cactus Patabahar
Bauganvilla Palm

3.6 Medicinal plants

Name (√) Name (√) Name (√) Name (√)

Tulshi ✓ Pudina ✓
Mint ✓ Others (if any)
Thankuni
Aloe vera

3.7 Income, expenditure & profits

Type Annual household Annual Initial cost of Annual Annual

income from all household rooftop maintenance income from
sources expenditure gardening cost of the roof selling garden
garden produces
Response ____ ___ 300 TAKA ____ _____
(Taka)
3.8 Contribution of the rooftop garden to household consumption

Type Level of household requirement satisfied If household needs remained unsatisfied,

from the rooftop garden how much did you bought from the market
and the cost incurred for that last year?
Fully Moderately Partially Not at all Qty (kg) Amount (tk)
Vegetables ✓
Fruits
Spices and ✓
condiments
Flowers ✓
Medicinal plants ✓

3.9 Source of technical guideline/information regarding rooftop gardening

Information sources Level of contact (√)

Frequently Occasionall Rarely Not at all
y
Nearby nursery
Television
Radio
Youtube ✓
Facebook (rooftop gardening practitioners’ group) ✓
Newspaper
Extension agent
Friends
Neighbors
Magazines
Others (if any)

3.10 Resource utilization and garden management

Resource Types
s
Water Tap Groundwater Natural Stored Pre- Mixture of
water rainwate rainwater treated sources
r sewage
water
% 100%
Planting Fish Polybags Waste Cans Bottle earthen pot plastic Rejecte
material crates bags pot d
substan
ces
% 60% 30%
Nutrient Compos Chemical Food Kitchen Plant
t fertilizer waste waste debris
% 5% 95%
Weight - - 0.05 0.20
(kg/week)
Pest and Cultural Mechanical Chemical Biological
disease (mulching, crop rotation, planting (cultivation, (pesticide, (resistant variety,
control time change, variety selection) trapping, pest exclusi fungicide) use of predatory
on by hand killing) birds)
% 100%
Labor What would be the labor cost if the entire gardening What is the exact cost incurred
operations are done by labor hiring? for labor hiring?
Response 500 Taka 500 Taka
(taka)
3.11 Participation of family members in decision making and rooftop garden management
 of roof top gardening
Activities Male members Female members

Occasionally

Occasionally
Frequently

Frequently
Not at al

Not at al
Rarely

Rarely
Decision to start the rooftop ✓ ✓
making
Preparatory activities DecisionStages

garden
Decision to expand the rooftop ✓ ✓
garden
Decision on selecting different ✓ ✓
plant species
Selection of area ✓ ✓
Arranging gardening tools ✓ ✓
Plastic sheeting ✓ ✓
Collecting containers ✓ ✓
Filling the containers with soil ✓ ✓
Seed collection ✓ ✓
Seed sowing ✓ ✓
Seedlings raising ✓ ✓
Weeding ✓ ✓
Disposal operation Harvesting/post-harvesting Intercultural operation

Mulching the containers ✓ ✓

Fertilizer application ✓ ✓
Spraying pesticides ✓ ✓
Training (removal of excessive ✓ ✓
branches or shoots)
Watering the garden ✓ ✓
Collection and storing rainwater ✓ ✓
Wrapping operation ✓ ✓
Harvesting by picking or others ✓
way
Grading ✓
Storage ✓ ✓
Marketing ✓ ✓

Preparing the earthen pot or other ✓ ✓

implements for reusing
Disposal of debris and waste ✓ ✓
materials
Removal of excess water during ✓ ✓
heavy rain
4. Perceived Ecosystem Services of Rooftop Garden
(SA=Strongly agree, A= Agree, UK=Unknown, DA=Disagree, SDA=Strongly disagree)
Services Response (√)
Types

SA A UK D SDA
A
Fruits and vegetables produced in the rooftop garden meets the vitamins and ✓

nutrient requirements of the family members

Provisioning

Get many medicare facilities from different medicinal plants ✓

Use of rainwater for watering the garden and/or process water in buildings ✓

after due cleansing

Different flowers and ornamental plants of the rooftop garden helps celebrate ✓

different rituals and offer income by selling in the market

Short-chain food provision and reducing “food miles” and carbon footprint ✓
Rooftop gardening potentially alters consumer diets towards low carbon ✓

foods and reduce the carbon footprint

Afford organic fruits and vegetables that prevent consuming chemically ✓

treated foods and reduce health risks

Enabling productive reuse of organic wastes, thereby reducing methane ✓

emissions from landfill and reducing energy use in the production of

fertilizers
Reuse of urban wastewater to free freshwater for higher-value uses and ✓

reduce emissions from wastewater treatment

Infiltration and retention of storm/rain water prevents overspill from sewers, ✓

improves surface water quality

Regulating and supporting

Flood hazard reduction through storm/rainwater retention and infiltration, ✓

run-off control, and erosion control

Reduce air pollution and improve air quality as green plants act as filters of ✓

gaseous contaminants
Reducing the urban heat island effect by increasing green surface areas ✓
Cooling effect of the garden is effective in reducing the ambient temperature ✓
Reducing energy requirements for heating and cooling by providing a layer of ✓

insulation on buildings
Diversifying income opportunities: the creation of “green jobs”; safety nets in ✓

times of economic crisis

Enhancing carbon sequestration by planting trees in the roof garden ✓
Mitigating land consumption, fragmentation, and soil sealing ✓
Rooftop garden is developed with numerous plant species that helps to restore ✓

agrobiodiversity, habitats, and nutrient cycling

Prolongation of the lifetime of the roof material through protection from UV ✓

radiation and reduction of surface temperatures on the roof and property

value
Creates habitat for wildlife e.g. birds, butterflies, etc and enhances pollination ✓
It has the potential to be used as teaching resources and natural laboratory ✓
Small-scale and avoidance of monocultures minimize the incidence of pests ✓

Services Response (√)

Types

SA A UK D SDA
A
Opportunities for children’s play, exercise, visiting with friends, and “taking ✓

a break”
Helps to celebrate religious and cultural rituals such as The Hindu community ✓

use flowers like Joba (China rose) in their worship

 Cultural and aesthetic
Enjoy distributing garden produces to relatives and neighbors that help to ✓

build strong social bonds among the community members

Helps beautification of the environment, create peaceful moments, and ✓

supports mental relaxation and recreation

Opportunities for working with and solving social problems ✓
Farm work and gardening helps maintain physical and mental well-being ✓
Opportunities for education, training, and social interactions ✓
Opportunities for increased tourism through a branding of a visually and ✓

functionally greener city

Sense of space and nature and create a positive impact on neighborhoods ✓
Providing children and young people contact to more green surroundings ✓
Increase aesthetic experience through changing colors of living roofs ✓
Improves utilization of area that is already in use and increase property value ✓
Creates corridors of walking, cycling, and connecting people through roofs ✓
Offers an opportunity for parents migrated from rural areas to practice ✓

gardening and let them carries a feeling of rural even in the urban settings

5. Problem confrontation

Sl Problem statements Severity (√)

ES MS SS NS
1. The shadow of the adjoining building hampers the production of the roof garden ✓
2. Different kinds of birds disturb the garden by eating small vegetables and fruit ✓
trees
3. The fallen leaves of the tree make the roof dirty so the roof has to be cleaned ✓
regularly
4. Difficult to collect quality seeds and seedlings ✓
5. There is no proper training and technical guidance by the Department of ✓
Agricultural Extension (DAE)
6. Damages caused by children, pets, and thieves ✓
7. Lack of proper marketing facilities ✓
8. Due to lack of adequate open space and playgrounds in cities, the conversion of ✓
roofs into gardens have made children and adolescents more dependent on
technology than sports that is alarming for their physical and mental growth
9. Outbreaks of insects, pests, and diseases ✓
10. Lack of timely supply of required fertilizers, pesticides, compost, and credit ✓
11. Others (If any)
12.
13.
14.
15.
ES =Extremely severe, MS =Moderately severe, SS =Somewhat severe, NS = Not severe at all

Thanks for your nice cooperation. MD RIFAQAT ISLAM RIHAT

Signature of the data enumerator