SINGAPORE: SARS Drags Quiet Farming Industry into Spotlight

By A. D. McKenzie Reprint | | Print |

A D McKenzie

SINGAPORE, Apr 29 2003 (IPS) - The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-linked closure of the largest wholesale vegetable market in Singapore has cast the spotlight on a little known industry in this modern island state: farming.

When the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, which deals with 70 percent of Singapore’s fresh-produce sales, was closed on Apr. 20 because three workers there had come into contact with the potentially deadly disease, retailers experienced a shortage in vegetables -and many of them suddenly descended on the nation’s 55 farms.

These farms, located in a secluded corner of the city state, far away from the shiny malls and office buildings for which Singapore is famous, normally provide only 5 percent of the country’s daily requirement of 1,000 tonnes of vegetables.

But the shutdown of the wholesale centre resulted in an instant surge in demand, causing farmers to work overtime. The crisis also made residents aware of this low-key industry, as SARS has prompted many to turn to healthier food.

"I didn’t even know Singapore had farms," said Dori Boyce, a U.S. national who has been living here for three years. "When you go into the supermarkets, all you notice is produce from elsewhere."

Singapore, a country of 4 million people, imports most of its fruits and vegetables from Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and the United States, with European countries also providing many items.

But the government, which leases land to farmers, would like to see local enterprises meeting 20 percent of the demand in five years. SARS, and the panic buying of produce over the past week, has given a new impetus to that goal.

The Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre was due to reopen Wednesday, but the Ministry of Health has extended the closure for five more days, to ensure that none of the wholesalers and workers returns to work with SARS.

Health authorities have identified 10 SARS cases linked to the centre. Meanwhile, more than 1,900 people who frequented the market and may have come into contact with the virus are under home quarantine, according to a Ministry of Health statement.

The extension means that local farms will continue to see consumers at their gates, although other wholesale facilities have taken over some of the closed centre’s operations, and additional produce is being brought in from Malaysia.

”We’ve definitely had more walk-in visitors since the crisis started," said Jerry Sim, the marketing manager of Aero-Green Technology. "They come because they know it’s another avenue for them to buy fresh greens. But of course we have to take our own protection measures, and the staff is told to look out for people who seem unwell."

Aero-Green Technology is Singapore’s most high-tech farm, using a method known as aeroponics, in which vegetables are grown without soil. The technology could represent the future of the farming industry, not only in Singapore but in other countries with a shortage of arable land.

Visitors to Aero-Green are treated to the rare sight of vegetables growing suspended in air, under the cover of greenhouses. The roots, meanwhile, are placed in soil-free troughs and sprayed with a mist containing essential nutrients. The technology allows temperate produce such as romaine lettuce to be grown year-round in equatorial Singapore.

Developed by Lee Sing Kong, a professor at the National Institute of Education, this high-technology method has earned Aero-Green several awards, including the U.N. Urban Agriculture Award in 2000, and the Asian Innovation Award in 1998 given by the ‘Far Eastern Economic Review’ magazine. Aero-Green is owned by an international group based in Malaysia.

At least two other farms here are considered high-technology as well, using a method known as hydroponics in which plants are also grown without soil, their roots in a nutrient-rich solution. These farms, too, have been experiencing increased demand for their products.

Nanda Kumar, a farmer at Agrotech Hydroponics Farm Centre, said, "My volume has increased a lot, especially with orders coming via the Internet." He said consumers have been surfing the web to find alternative sources of vegetables – and as a result, he is now constantly busy making deliveries.

Perhaps the sector of the farming industry that will feel the greatest impact, however, is organic farming.

In the past two years, more consumers have been turning to organic produce here, and the SARS epidemic is boosting this trend as people try to strengthen their immune systems by eating healthier food.

Lim Tian Soo, a former financial consultant who left his job to start an organic farm with his wife, said the SARS crisis has made Singaporeans increasingly aware of biological produce – grown without pesticides or artificial fertilisers.

Lim’s farm, Green Circle, supplies vegetables to one of Singapore’s most "chic" organic stores, SuperNature, which normally has organic produce flown in just once a week from Australia as well.

But last week, after the closure of the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, all the store’s fruits and vegetables were sold out in a day. This week, SuperNature is having organic produce flown in twice to meet increased demand.

"There has definitely been an increase in people coming to the shop," a spokeswoman said. "SARS has made more people willing to spend money for organic food because they realise the importance of staying healthy."