Eco-farm to take root in Bukit Panjang

Residents will plant sweet potatoes in project to increase ecology awareness, and profits from selling harvests will go to district's welfare fund for needy kids.

By Neo Hui Min

 RESIDENTS of Bukit Panjang are getting a chance to go back to their roots, in this case, root vegetables.

In an eco-farm project spearheaded by the district's Member of Parliament Teo Ho Pin, residents will get to plant sweet potatoes and harvest them for charity.

''We want to increase awareness of ecology and eco-farming among the schoolchildren and residents,'' he said.

Dr Teo, who is also chairman of Sembawang Town Council, told The Straits Times that the harvest would be sold and the money channelled to the district's welfare fund.

The fund helps to support children from needy families through scholarships, bursaries and other forms of financial assistance.

''It's a true community project with an educational content,'' he said.

The town council will supply the land, while the expertise and training that residents will need to run the farm will come from a commercial company called Terra-Firma Biotechnologies, which specialises in organic farming.

Mr Henry Tan, Terra-Firma's owner, said the crops would be grown without the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

That will make them healthier than vegetables grown using traditional methods, he said.

''A lot of illnesses, such as kidney failure and cancer, come about because of a long-term accumulation of pesticides in the body.

''So, we are trying to develop an organic farm to promote healthier food,'' he said.

Another advantage is that organically-grown vegetables fetch a higher price on the market, he said.

Each kilogram of sweet potatoes is expected to fetch between $5 and $10, making the farm commercially viable.

With 0.4 ha of sweet-potato plants, Mr Tan said, the farm can expect a harvest of about 750 kg every three months.

Dr Teo said sweet potatoes fitted the bill of a ''high-value crop'', as both the shoots and the tubers could be eaten.

The project will start on a 0.4-ha piece of land at Bukit Panjang Park, behind Block 210, Petir Road, which is owned by the town council.

The council will fork out about $50,000 to get the farm going. Most of the money will be spent on clearing the land and fencing up the area. Planting will start early next year.

If the farm is successful, Dr Teo hopes to double its size by planting on another 0.4-ha plot next to the present site, which also belongs to the town council.