Is land really scarce in Singapore?
choongyong.koh April 19th, 2008
There are many occasions in which we hear from the Government that certain things cannot be done because we are in “land scarce” Singapore.
Two recent pieces of news appearing on the same day (17 Apr 2008) led me to think again:
- NParks & SLA create more than 30ha of space for tree banks
- Pork from Malaysia? Not before 2011
(archived link here: http://www.clipclip.com/clips/detail/146358/pork-from-malaysia-not-before-2011)
The first article proudly announces allocation of more than 30ha of land to “nurture young, high-value trees to meet future demands for landscaping in Singapore”.
The second article mentioned a new 4.36 million sq feet newly built centralised pig farm in Malaysia. According to the article, this facility is a possible future source of pork for Singapore, but it is also quick to point out “while Sarawak might be close by, the rising cost of feeding pigs, and transporting them them might not make pork that much cheaper”.
A quick google convert (just type “convert 30 hectares to sq feet” into your google search box) tells me that 30ha is 3.23 million sq feet, probably about 3/4 of the land needed for the centralised pig farm. (If it is one-storey high. However, I don’t see why a centralised pig farm cannot be multi-storey.)
So the next question on my mind was that, if Singapore has enough land to grow trees for landscaping purposes, will Singapore have enough land to build itself a centralised pig farm? What best way to reduce transportation costs than to locally produce it? Will “land-scarce Singapore” be the retort to such a thought?
There used to be pig farms in Singapore in Punggol, but due to the planned (but not materialized） Punggol 21 development, the farms were discontinued. I am not sure if the farmers were given a choice to relocate, or whether they chose to give up on farming. However, with the global climate of rising food prices and rising transportation costs, pork prices have also gone on a steady (but not as drastic rise as rice prices) increase over the years.
AVA’s strategy so far to fight the world-wide food price inflation, is to diversify food sources by going to ever further countries to secure food supplies. Maybe it is time to develop and strengthen the local food supply, which for the past few years have only been producing less than 13 % of fish, 28% of eggs and 5% vegetables that we consume.
Land is not scarce in Singapore if proper planning goes into each project, as the second page of the SLA annual report this year puts it:
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Just wondering if you have thought about the environmental impact of farms like pig farms (and cattle farms as well). Land size, I think, is not the only consideration here. These farms have to be away from the residential areas as well. In the densely populated city like Singapore, I can certainly see why we have to make a choice at times.
Tree banks to me are fine. They do have a positive impact to the environment.
Of course, I am not here to think about how “morally right” all these decisions are. The last I’ve heard, we actually ship rubbish out to some countries to bury.
Actually, out of the 4 sites earmarked as tree banks, 3 are in Sungei Tengah, which is also home to one of the six agro technology parks in Singapore. As far as I known, Seng Choong Egg Farm is located there too, so building a new pig farm in locations like that will probably be as far away from major residential areas as possible.