Innovation starts at home: ) Eddrus Iskandar tending lovingly to his padi shoots at his house in Kampung Kandar Hilir, Perak.
KUALA KANGSAR: After seeing his aunt’s success in growing padi in flower pots, Eddrus Iskandar Abd Hamid came up with the idea of cultivating padi on a small scale at his house compound in Kampung Kandang Hilir here.
Instead of using pots, Eddrus Iskandar uses recycled paint cans in his padi farming venture.
“Initially, my aunt was using the padi husk ash as fertiliser for her plants such as chilli.
“In the husks, there were unburnt padi grains and she used them to start growing padi in pots,” the former navy personnel told Bernama.
Eddrus Iskandar showing off the harvested padi. — Bernama
Eddrus Iskandar, 35, said growing padi in paint cans was simple and cost-effective.
The concept of growing padi in paint cans and in padi fields is the same, including its water requirement and control, use of fertilisers, mineral content in the soil and the need for hot weather.
“The seeds sown are either from the rice mill or given by my aunt.
“I am now able to harvest one kilo of padi from three to four paint cans,” said Eddrus Iskandar, who also grows vegetables such as chillies and spinach.
“Growing padi in paint cans is simple because it does not require a lot of equipment and there is no need to worry about the presence of pests.
“Twenty pots or paint cans are enough to feed a family of four or five for a month,” he said.
Eddrus Iskandar also supports the government’s call to grow vegetables and rear livestock for own use as this will help address the problem of insufficient food supply and ease the high cost of living.
