Urban Farming Case Study(1)

7/31/2019 Urban Farming Case Study(1)

1/7

SINGAPORE: The kampong spirit that thrives in the HDB heartlands can flourishin private housing estates too, Minister for National Development Khaw BoonWan said in his latest blog post on Sunday.

He cited the example of Goldhill estate in Moulmein Constituency, where the

NParks Community In Bloom (CIB) programme is being carried out.

The CIB programme brings local communities together to grow their ownvegetables, herbs and fruit trees in assigned areas.

Mr Khaw said residents were proud to tell him during a recent visit that theirgarden won three top awards at the Singapore Garden Festival 2010

He said that not all residents are farmers or have green fingers and arevolunteers from all walks of life who came together to build their vegetablegarden from scratch. However, with advice from the Agri-Food and VeterinaryAuthority on seeding, fertilisation and irrigation, the garden has thrived under

the care of the residents.

The volunteers have grown closer as they learnt how to grow and take care oftheir garden and reap rewards from the harvests, Mr Khaw added.

The CIB programme was also extended to the rooftop of the Khoo Teck PuatHospital in Yishun, where -- with the help of volunteers from Yishun andSembawang -- it has been a great success benefiting patients at the hospital,Mr Khaw said.

Mr Khaw commented that while Singapore is highly urbanised, we can also belike a kampong with urban farmers, adding to the neighbourhood's biodiversity

and our quality of life along the way.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1192490/1/.html

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120402-0000021/Green-thumbs-up-for-

community-bonding-through-urban-farming

SINGAPORE : A community garden built on state land is flourishing in aneighbourhood in central Singapore.

Residents in Moulmein-Kallang have been tending to the Goldhill CommunityGarden since 2008.

They obtained approval from authorities to convert the patch of land, whichhad been misused by some to dump their rubbish.

Today, the area is tended by over 100 residents who grow crops like lentils,winter melons and lady's fingers.

The Goldhill Community Garden has an open concept. It is not fenced up.

The project has even attracted residents from beyond the constituency, somewho come as early as 6am to do their gardening.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1192490/1/.htmlhttp://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120402-0000021/Green-thumbs-up-for-community-bonding-through-urban-farminghttp://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120402-0000021/Green-thumbs-up-for-community-bonding-through-urban-farminghttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1192490/1/.htmlhttp://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120402-0000021/Green-thumbs-up-for-community-bonding-through-urban-farminghttp://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120402-0000021/Green-thumbs-up-for-community-bonding-through-urban-farming


2/7

Ang Kian Chuan, chairman of the Moulmein Goldhill Neighbourhood Committee,said: "The most important thing was that the neighbours were quite united inwanting this community garden.

"One concern was that we should not cause any disruption or any problemsenvironmentally, and in terms of noise, problems to the neighbours, we wereable to convince them that we will be responsible."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1190184/1/.html

Pasted onto a muddied, upturned rubber boot on astick, the white paper notice from the SingaporeLand Authority (SLA) is an incongruous sight amongthe lush greens and ochre browns in part ofSingapores Clementi neighborhood, which isscattered with illegal farms. The message: You havetrespassed on the State land.

The notices were served in recent weeks to a groupof residents who for decades have enjoyed access to
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1190184/1/.htmlhttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1190184/1/.html


3/7

a sliver of former railway land sitting between somehousing blocks of Singapores Clementi Avenue 4and the Sungei Ulu Pandan canal. There, they have

grown food such as sweet potatoes and the bulbousand prickly jackfruit. There are also small shrines toChinese deities and areas reserved for shadedseating and socializing.

Matthew Allen/The Wall Street Journal

For decades, the residents have grown food such as sweet potatoes and thebulbous and prickly jackfruit on former railway land.

But following a complaint from a nearby resident whose asthmatic children were apparently sufferingfrom the smoke created by burning leaves wheneverthe farmers cleared land for new planting thefarmers activities have fallen under the scrutiny ofauthorities. They say the smoke is a health hazard,while also raising concerns about the potential formosquito breeding in stagnant water at some pondson the land.

The SLAs notice signed by the Collector Of LandRevenue threatens enforcement action if thefarmers do not remove structure, cultivation andother items that are encroaching on the State landby March 20 (Tuesday).


4/7

Since the notices were served on March 6, theinformal patchwork of farms has become widelypublicized and has divided opinion in land-scarce

Singapore, where around 80% of residents live inblocks of flats built by the government and have noland of their own.

The SLA said in a statement provided to The WallStreet Journal that there are currently no immediateplans for the site but individuals or groups of themcannot simply lay claim on State land for their private

use. Since leaving the encroachment notices at thefarms, the authority has said it will seek the views ofgrassroots organizations and government agencieson whether the land can be used by the communityin some form, and a local member of parliament hasoffered to mediate.

With the deadline looming, only a handful of

residents have come forward to initiate discussions,and the fate of the farms remains unclear. However,many residents believe its hard to see how anyoutcome which drives green-fingered residents awayfrom the small tract of forest will benefit the majorityof people in the area.

Many commentators on social media have

expressed dismay that a seemingly harmless activitysuch as growing fruit and vegetables should drawthe threat of legal action from the state, thoughothers have said that the farms are dirty and shouldbe cleared, and that the land should be opened up toall.

Either way, the incident has highlighted the

difficulties which arise from residents pursuingseemingly innocuous activities, such as growing food


5/7

on unused land, in a country where some 41,000hectares of land, or about 58% of the island-statestotal area, are state-owned.

Urban sprawl and rapid population growth has eateninto much of the remaining green space in Singaporeand residents have become increasingly vocal andorganized in their efforts to conserve what is left. AChinese cemetery in Bukit Brown threatened by roadconstruction is one such case where campaignersare urging that the government focus on boosting

access to greenery to improve residents quality oflife.

In the farmers case at Clementi, many residentsbelieve that if there is unused land available, small-scale food cultivation by residents would surely be agood use for it, although with some controls overpotentially harmful practices such as burning foliage.

Singapore long ago paved over most of its farm land,and these days, only a handful of working farms arestill in operation, mainly in northwestern Singaporenear the border with Malaysia. In past yearsSingapore authorities have encouraged someresidents to grow their own fruits and vegetables tohelp improve food security in the city-state, whichhas to import most of its foodstuffs.

Urban food gardening per se is an excellent use ofland, says Bhavani Prakash, the Singapore-basedfounder of Eco Walk the Talk, an environmentaladvocacy group. However, I do agree that it doeshave to be properly managed by the community.This episode shows that there have to be properguidelines for community gardens in Singapore, but
http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/11/09/singapore-graveyard-stirs-lively-debate/http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/11/09/singapore-graveyard-stirs-lively-debate/http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/11/09/singapore-graveyard-stirs-lively-debate/http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/11/09/singapore-graveyard-stirs-lively-debate/


6/7

of course, not in a way that constricts the freedomand creativity of gardeners, she says.

Ms. Prakash adds that in the long run, government

agencies like the SLA, Urban RedevelopmentAuthority and National Parks Board should worktogether to encourage urban food gardening, andeducate the public on best practices, such ascomposting bio-mass instead of burning it.

Such a multilateral approach to the farms atClementi seems likely to be the only way for the

farmers there to continue to work the land.

In this regard, there is precedent. A Community InBloom program was launched by the National ParksBoard in 2005 to help residents, students andworkers in Singapore to set up and sustaincommunity gardening projects.

Ng Cheow Kheng, Deputy Director of Horticultureand Community Gardening at the National ParksBoard oversees a team of six working on theprogram. He says that there are now 480 groups ofcommunity gardeners under the scheme, withprojects ranging from roadside flower beds to largemixed-use plots, in both private and public housingareas.

Mr. Ng says that through the use of renewableTemporary Occupation Licenses and with communityleaders liaising with authorities, spare land can betransformed into gardening havens. He says suchgovernment involvement is an option at Clementithat could keep the soil being turned.


7/7

Its not so much about control, its not a question oflegality of illegality, its really a question oforganization, about people taking charge, he says.

We help them with guides, training materials andchoice of plants, we help them with whatever theyneed for gardening, and we make sure there is nonuisance to other people.

Whether a framework such as the Community inBloom program can be adopted at Clementi, though,remains to be seen, since discussions on what to do

there are only just beginning.

On Saturday, a group of men were burning incensepapers and lighting joss sticks at the shrines in theheart of the complex of farm plots, as they removedartifacts and objects in preparation for the structuresto be cleared.

We just pray and give back, pray and give back,said one of the men from the community who usesthe site and asked to be called AK Wong. He saidthe government was entitled to take back the land; itcant be helped lah. What to do? he shrugged.

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/20/singapore-considering-giving-community-

farm-the-boot/
http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/20/singapore-considering-giving-community-farm-the-boot/http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/20/singapore-considering-giving-community-farm-the-boot/http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/20/singapore-considering-giving-community-farm-the-boot/http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/20/singapore-considering-giving-community-farm-the-boot/

Documents

Urban Farming Case Study(1)