Fresh from the farms in Singapore
A new generation of young people are ensuring farmsin Singapore stay vibrant, viable and relevantChrista Yeo, Straits Times 21 Feb 10;
The next time you munch on a serving of kai lan, relish this thought: It might have been grown in Singapore soil and nurtured by one of Singapore's fourth generation of farmers.
Yes, farmers.
In that area, vegetables are not the only things that are fresh.
While many of the farms face the prospect of a young generation who want to swop the outdoors life for an airconditioned office, there is a handful of young farmers under 30 - both men and women - who are carrying on family businesses.
The new breed are a tech-savvy bunch who are enthusiastic about a job based on old-style commodities such as vegetables, frogs, fish, poultry and dairy products - but given a modern twist.
These days, many of these farms are open to the public. School tours and walk-in customers provide a welcome stream of revenue.
One such young farmer is 26-year-old William Huang, who has worked at Kok Fah Technology Farm for nearly four years.
The farm, founded by his uncle, Mr Wong Kok Fah, supplies vegetables such as kai lan, cai xin, kang kong and spinach to NTUC FairPrice's Pasar label and other markets around Singapore.
Mr Huang, a civil and structural engineering diploma holder, is the fourth-generation family member to work on a farm and he has already made his mark, introducing an automated vegetable-packing machine.
He says: 'I used to wonder how my uncle and father were able to work every single day, but now that I'm following in their footsteps, I understand that it's their passion that is driving them, as well as a commitment to their families.'
But down on the farm, Mr Huang is the exception these days.
Take second-generation farmer William Ho, 43, who took over his father Ho Seng Choon's chicken farm in 1994, turning it into a game farm.
The father of two girls, aged 10 and seven, is unsure if it will remain a family business when they grow up.
He says: 'I cannot force my daughters to come and work on the farm. If they are interested, I don't mind passing it on to them but I wouldn't want to force them.'
Mr Ho adds: 'I'm afraid that the younger generation cannot endure hardship. This job is not glamorous and is dirty. '
Many older folk can empathise with his lament: 'Children these days don't know where their food comes from. They don't know the chicken they eat have feathers and are not originally from a supermarket.'
LifeStyle spoke to farmers from several of the farms in Mandai, Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah, and found only a handful of fresh faces amid the generations who were happy to toil on the land.
Indeed, the lack of interest in farming among younger Singaporeans is evident in the small intake for Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Horticulture and Landscape Management diploma course.
The 13-year-old course, in partnership with National Parks Singapore, has a small but steady intake of about 50 to 60 students per year.
Mr Gregory Chow, senior lecturer and course manager, says: 'There are no official statistics but students who graduate from this course go on to pursue careers in nurseries, resorts and landscape industries.'
However, universities in Singapore do not offer a horticulture degree programme. Students who want to pursue their green interest further tend to go to universities in Australian cities such as in Queensland and Melbourne.
One such degree-holder from Queensland is 26-year-old Muhammad Haider. He is now 'farm chief', as owner Ivy Singh-Lim of Bollywood Veggies puts it. She is also the founder of Kranji Countryside Association, which represents farmers in the area.
Mrs Evelyn Eng-Lim, 63, who owns Green Circle Eco Farm in Lim Chu Kang, echoes Mr Ho's concerns about an uncertain future.
Her husband Lim Tian Soo, also 63, co-owns the farm and the couple have no children. She says: 'There is no farming culture here and in this electronic age, young people are so removed from nature.'
But she adds: 'I really welcome young people but they must be committed. They cannot expect to acquire a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time and they shouldn't expect to get rich.'
Mr Ho also says: 'Farmers are often required to go beyond the call of duty as nothing is predictable on a farm and we make a lot of sacrifices.
