SINGAPORE: Fish farmer Eric Ng spent more than S$1 million to build an automatic water filtration and recycling system for his marine fish farm two years ago.

Since then, Apollo Aquaworld Group has seen an annual yield of 24 tonnes of fish per pond – six times more than a traditional farm.

It is one of the 200 farms in Singapore which will benefit from the newly enhanced Agriculture Productivity Fund (APF) meant to raise farming productivity.

Previously, the S$63 million APF co-funded investments in technology on a reimbursement basis. But the fund was restructured with effect from Apr 1 so that up to 30 per cent of the approved funding quantum can be disbursed up front to farmers.

“Previously we had to use our own money or cash flow first to pay off everything we built,” said Mr Ng. “Then we could get the reimbursement back from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).”

“But now with the 30 per cent up front, I think it can help a lot of farmers on their cash flow … I think that will be a great help to the industry.”

Under the fund’s productivity enhancement grant, the farm received a S$700,000 reimbursement – a move which helped the farm offset the hefty costs associated with shifting to more productive methods of farming.

Apollo Aquaculture Group’s automatic water filtration and recycling system has helped it increase its productivity and reduce manpower costs. (Photo: Wendy Wong) 

According to AVA, more than S$6 million has been awarded to 46 farms under the APF.

The enhanced fund was part of a slew of measures unveiled in Parliament last month to help guide the local farming industry raise its productivity and overcome industry challenges.

This included the formation of an industry consultation panel to discuss strategies to enhance resource efficiency and productivity of food farms and the assignment of account managers to the farms, to provide business advice and liaise between agencies on farming-related matters.

CONCERNS OVER LIM CHU KANG MOVE-OUT

While farmers Channel NewsAsia spoke to said they welcomed the enhancements, some of them said they had no plans yet to utilise the enhanced fund due to uncertainty surrounding the Lim Chu Kang farming area.

The Government announced last year that 62 farms in the area would have to move out by end-2019 to make way for the Defence Ministry’s new training grounds.

Details of the location and new plot sizes have yet to be announced.

“At this stage, we are really heartened that the Government is looking into the agricultural industry and really want to transform it and propel us to another level,” said Jurong Frog Farm director Chelsea Wan.

“But really on the ground, what the farms still need to know is still whether are we here to stay; will we be relevant three years from now and by at the end of 2019, where are we going,” she said.

“So to take on the grant, to improve certain aspects of the business, we’re all in conundrum whether we should do that, because of the short lease term we have now,” said Ms Wan.

Jurong Frog Farm director Chelsea Wan. (Photo: Justin Ong)

Mr Ng agreed: “I think the main problem now is that we’re not able to utilise these funds currently to build an entire facility on this old plot because we’re moving out in 2019.”

In response, an AVA spokesperson said that the Government was in the midst of “extensive land preparation works” for the upcoming sale of agriculture land, which is expected to be announced later this year.

“We will inform all interested parties once the land is ready for tender,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ms Wan said she looked forward to when she can utilise the enhanced fund to help offset the costs of building a water treatment recycling system for her farm.

“The Government can take their own time to devise these transformation plans, but for farmers on the ground time is not on our side,” she said.

“So the sooner we have got affirmation and more clarity on the industry I think the more and better the farmers will do.”

Currently, around 1 per cent of Singapore’s land is taken up by farmland, with food farms located in areas such as Lim Chu Kang, Sungei Tengah and Murai, according to AVA.

SINGAPORE: Eurasians may be the smallest group in Singapore, but they have made many contributions, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a festival to celebrate Eurasian culture and tradition on Sunday (Apr 9).

Among the many Eurasians who have distinguished themselves and made significant contributions to the society were first Law Minister E W Barker, former heads of Civil Service Stanley Stewart and George Bogaars, and Singapore’s second President Dr Benjamin Sheares, said PM Lee.

He also cited others like former Ambassador to Indonesia Barry Desker, the first woman Supreme Court Justice Judith Prakash, jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro and Olympic champion Joseph Schooling.

In recognising their achievements, PM Lee said he felt “lucky” to have known all of them personally.

“I am very happy to see Eurasians doing well in many professions, all over society, establishing and making a name for themselves,” he said, adding that he had “no doubt” that Eurasians will make many contributions to Singapore.

Children decorating Easter eggs at the Eurasian festival on Sunday (Apr 9).

The Eurasian Festival organised by the Eurasian Association (EA) together with the People’s Association was held at Our Tampines Hub. The event featured highlights like Easter egg decoration, live band performances and story telling. 

SINGAPORE — Works on more than half the neighbourhood centres earmarked in 2011 for upgrading in East Coast, Jurong Lake and Hougang have concluded.

In a press statement on Sunday (April 9), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said that 11 of the 21 neighbourhood centres have been spruced up as of last month at a cost of S$19 million, under its Remaking Our Heartland programme.

The remaining 10 centres, including ones in Bedok South Road and Jurong West Street 41, are in various stages of upgrading and will be completed progressively by 2019.

When fully completed, more than 800,000 residents and 1,500 shops in the estates will stand to gain from the S$42 million revitalisation.

In 2015, the Government announced plans to rejuvenate three other towns — Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Pasir Ris — under the programme. Fourteen neighbourhood centres housing about 670 shops are slated to be upgraded, benefiting more than half a million residents.

Details of the finalised renewal plans will be unveiled at exhibitions later this month, when residents can give their feedback.

The improvements to the neighbourhood centres — social hubs where residents can interact through activities — are meant to improve the identity of the neighbourhoods, infuse more greenery and fashion more spaces where communities can gather.

Take, for example, the Bukit Batok West Shopping Centre in the Jurong Lake area, where upgrading works wrapped up in October.

Comprising 65 shops, eateries, a market and a supermarket, the neighbourhood centre — erected more than three decades ago — spans Blocks 150 to 159 Bukit Batok Street 11 and serves about 27,000 residents living nearby.

Its maiden radical facelift has made it the first neighbourhood centre to have a community pavilion with rooftop greenery. The roof of the 280sqm pavilion boasts an assortment of plants in different hues and has a self-irrigation system to harvest rainwater. 

The roof lowers the pavilion’s ambient temperature, for greater levels of comfort. And the pavilion features elements such as energy-efficient light-emitting diode lights, fans and power points for the convenience of residents who attend parties or gather there.

The HDB also heeded residents’ call for a community herb garden to be set up, and 15 residents have since stepped forward to tend to it.

The garden, the first of its kind in a neighbourhood centre, has more than 30 herb species now, up from nine initially. And it doubles up as an outdoor classroom for children from the nearby childcare centres.

Besides a new playground for residents and children to keep fit and play together, a green promenade, nearly 50 metres long, was created to ease accessibility in the neighbourhood centre.

It features lush landscaping and thrice as many seats as before. Residents also have smoother surfaces when travelling by foot, since more than 1,700 sqm of the neighbourhood centre’s floor space was retiled.     

Before the East Coast, Hougang and Jurong Lake estates as well as the Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Pasir towns were picked, Punggol, Dawson and Yishun were the earliest estates identified for renewal in 2007.

SINGAPORE: Of all her physical features, Chan See Ting loved her hair the most.

“I wore it very long, and it was very black and silky,” said the 25 year-old, as she flicked through Facebook profile pictures on her computer. “I was very proud of it.”

But all that remains of the long, silky locks she used to be so proud of is a small tuft in the centre of her scalp. Four years ago, See Ting was diagnosed with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease where her body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles, causing her to lose all her hair.

There is no cure.

HELPLESS

See Ting still remembers the day it all started: Jul 6, 2013.

She had been getting her hair done at a salon when the hairdresser alerted her to a thumbprint-sized bald patch on her scalp.

See Ting in 2012, before her hair started falling. (Photo: courtesy of Chan See Ting)

“I thought it was just stress, and I didn’t think very much about it,” she said. “But then there were all these bald spots that started spreading and soon, I realised my hair was starting to drop out in clumps.”

“It was so disgusting,” she added, grimacing. “I would just be sitting there talking to my friends, and pools of hair would just collect around me.” Every morning, her pillow would also be littered with strands of hair that had fallen in the night.

Steroids, she learnt, could suppress her immune system and stop the hair fall, but came with side effects. Nonetheless, she went ahead out of desperation, enduring multiple rounds of injections to her scalp, and taking oral steroids that made her bloat badly.

She recalled one of the most painful moments: sitting at the clinic, stony-faced, while the injections were going on.  

“But the minute I stepped out of the clinic I just squatted in a corner of the long hospital corridor and bawled,” she said. “I felt so helpless at that moment, and I was so scared my hair would never grow back.”

PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTRESSING

While there are no statistical assessments to show the prevalence of alopecia areata in Singapore, the condition can affect about 2 per cent of the population worldwide, according to Dr Joyce Lee, head of the National Skin Centre’s Hair and Nail Clinic. “We usually tell our patients there’s a 1 in 50 chance of a person getting alopecia areata at some time in their life,” she said.

The extent of hair loss can also differ from person to person, she added. Some may have a single round bald patch, while in other cases, the hair loss could affect the whole scalp, and even other hair-bearing areas like eyebrows and eyelashes. The complete loss of hair on the scalp and body is known as alopecia universalis.

Genetically, some people may also be more susceptible to developing the condition, added Dr Nisha Suyien Chandran, a consultant in the National University Hospital’s dermatology division. “Sometimes, there’s a family history of alopecia areata, or certain immune conditions, which can interact with environmental triggers like viral infections or stress to bring about the cascade of hair loss,” she explained.

The condition is benign, and in some cases, the hair will regrow by itself without the need for any treatment or steroid injections.   

But as See Ting found out, there is also a high chance of relapse. A topical treatment called DPCP had initially worked for her, and by early 2015, she was sporting a short pixie-cut crop of hair. But just a few months later, the hair started shedding, and within three weeks, all her hair was gone.

See Ting wearing her first wig at her graduation in 2015. (Photo: courtesy of Chan See Ting)

TEARS AND TANTRUMS

Coming to terms with her condition was a struggle for See Ting, who candidly admitted that the process was a journey filled with tears and tantrums. She could not bear to look at herself in the mirror, and lost all enthusiasm for dressing up.

“It wasn’t just hair loss to me,” she said. “it was also a loss of my identity, and a loss of my femininity. I started to question, who was I as a person, and who was I as a woman?”

She also had to deal with a big fear: People talking behind her back.

“There was one time I was sitting on a train, and this elderly couple was sitting next to me. The lady turned to her husband and said in Hokkien, ‘oh, look at that poor girl beside you, she doesn’t have any hair, it must be that she’s a cancer patient and she’s going through chemotherapy.’ They assumed I didn’t understand, but I did.”

“It felt like a blow to my gut.”

But she now takes the opportunity to educate people about her condition.

“I think the biggest misconception people have when they see me is that I had cancer and I’m going through chemo,” she said. “I’ve heard it so many times I’ve lost count…and there was a lot of indignance at first.”

“But then I realised it’s good that they tell me about their misconceptions so I can correct them, and sometimes, I’m the one that starts the conversation by telling them about alopecia upfront,” she added.

Till today, she remains grateful to her then-boyfriend, who – as she reflected ruefully – bore the brunt of her tantrums.

“He was this rock and just very steady, because I was so emotionally unstable and volatile,” she said. “I felt that he suffered a lot because he was the first person to get ‘hit’ in that sense. But he was so patient with me, and he never complained about how unreasonable I was.”

They are no longer in a relationship, but See Ting reiterated that it had nothing to do with her condition, and the two remain close friends.

“I had a lot of trust issues with men, and that played out big time in our relationship,” she said. “I think going through this whole alopecia episode was one reason why we can stay so close because you just get that fundamentally, you love each other even though it’s not in a romantic sense anymore.”

See Ting with her then-boyfriend, Tim, on 6 July 2013 – the day she first discovered the bald patch on her scalp. (Photo: courtesy of Chan See Ting)

GOING PUBLIC

Interviewing See Ting was like speaking to an old friend. Dressed stylishly in an olive mini dress and white sneakers, her face was made up carefully, and framed by a thick shoulder-length black wig.

Cheerfully, she whipped it off to reveal the patchy regrowth on her scalp. “I like this wig because it’s the one that looks the most like my natural hair,” she said, stroking the wig and jokingly putting on a sinister face before bursting into peals of laughter.

See Ting is worlds apart from the woman she said she once was – and this can be partly credited to a bold step she took almost two years ago: going public about her condition.

She had published a heartfelt Facebook post detailing her struggle with alopecia, with the intention of starting a support group for people with the condition. It was shared by more than 15,000 people, and See Ting soon found herself inundated with requests to speak publicly about her condition.

“It was the first step to really coming to terms and accepting it,” she said. “I was so scared then, but I just felt like if someone actually felt as alone as I did then I hope to be the person who says, ‘you’re not alone’.”

She has also taken part as a “book” in the Human Library Singapore, where participants were allowed to “borrow” people to listen to their stories.

She added that she finally reached full acceptance in December last year, when she got a close friend to help shave her head, before going out without her wig.

“It was such a beautiful moment,” she said. “I was so at ease and so at peace with myself that I didn’t even notice whether people were judging me, or talking behind my back. I even forgot I was bald.”

Her frankness and willingness to share her story and challenge her fears head-on is striking. But telling her story, she said, gives her strength.

See Ting as a “book” at the Human Library Singapore. (Photo: courtesy of Chan See Ting)

“I feel it is as if I am telling myself again and again who I am, and what I stand for,” she said. “And the story I keep telling is that there is strength in brokenness, strength in vulnerability, and beauty that everything that has happened.”

“I learnt that your pain will be your ministry,” she added. “It didn’t make sense to me back then, but now I look back and I’m grateful that alopecia happened to me.

I’m grateful that I had to go through all this and be forced to think about my identity at such a young age because now I can do different things, and lead my life differently.”

SINGAPORE — Wheelchair-bound, deaf-mute, retarded – these are words that one non-profit organisation has been fighting to remove from public lexicon for the last few years as they perpetuate negative connotations of persons with disabilities. 

Terms like “suffers from” and “afflicted with” are similarly targeted by the Disabled People’s Association (DPA) as they imply the person is inherently in need of support and help 

To change public discourse on disability so that it becomes more inclusive, the DPA writes in to media outlets, submits letters to forum pages, and appeals to governmental bodies when it sees offensive words used.

“People may think we’re being overly sensitive or pedantic, or political correctness gone mad… But we’re just hoping for it to be a conversation, a dialogue,” said Dr Marissa Lee Medjeral-Mills, DPA’s executive director. 

In 2013, the association started a blog compiling views and commentaries from those in the disability community touching on various issues, like education, employment and legislation. A key segment – called What it should have been – consists of a compilation of inappropriate words or term used to describe people with disabilities that have appeared in local media, blogs or publications. 

Dr Medjeral-Mills said the language used “reflects the attitude behind the choice of words”, and can be much more powerful than people think. 

“People with disabilities rarely have the opportunity to create the terminology or the language that’s used to speak about them…It’s about giving people a say, which hasn’t been the case until quite recently,” she said.  

Freelance software developer Chua De Bao, 33, who is deaf, told TODAY over email that contrary to how people rudely assume that he is “mute” or “deaf-mute”, he is just “unable to speak in a clear tone”. He can also hear loud noises such as racing cars, planes flying overhead, thunderstorms, or loud music in a club.

Similarly, deaf student Vanessa Neo, 23, recounted how offended she felt when nurses and doctors wrote “deaf and mute” in very big letters on the white board during her hospital visits.

“It’s not that we can’t talk, we just don’t know how to pronounce the words or we don’t know whether the words we speak are correct, so we’d rather write down on paper or type (via) a phone,” she said.

While Dr Medjeral-Mills acknowledged there has been some change in recent years, and the public is slowly opening up to conversations about disability, she is now concerned that if society has swung too far to the other extreme in finding different euphemisms.

“Now we’re saying differently (abled), unique abilities, with abilities…But rather than moving the marker all the time, why don’t we remove the stigma of the word disability and keep the conversation growing there?” she questioned. Just ask the person with disability how he would prefer to be called.

Some people with disability like 35-year-old graphic designer James Cai are not too bothered over the terms used.

Mr Cai said, some of his friends get upset on his behalf when words like “handicap”, “wheelchair-bound”, “people with special needs” come up.

“I guess I’m just comfortable being myself and that’s why I don’t really bother,” he said. 

And when people offer to help just because he is deaf, Mr Chua gets frustrated.

“Although I am a deaf person, I am very positive, independent and determined… to work hard and prove to others I have the ability to do (what most people can do),” he said.

Indeed, Dr Medjeral-Mills said when the public goes to the other extreme of over-emphasising how one has “overcome” his or her disability or challenges, it becomes “inspiration porn”, which can be equally damaging.

“We should celebrate the everyday heroes, if they climb a mountain, or win a gold medal or champion a cause, not celebrate them for being able to get up and go to work every day…

“If anything, we should have the infrastructure in place and policies to help people with disabilities find jobs and stay in place… Not ‘let’s congratulate them for tiny little achievements’ which can be quite damaging,” she explained.

As Mr Chua put it: “Deaf people don’t need people’s pity;  they prefer to be treated as a normal person.”

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If you know of more stories of people with disabilities, email us at today@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE – Dominating games but failing to win has been a familiar story for Manchester United this season.

Jose Mourinho’s men are currently on a 20-game unbeaten run in the English Premier League, but have won only half of those matches.

A large part of that has been down to a chronic inability to put away their chances, which has seen them net a paltry 43 times from 29 games. They have the worst conversion rate in the league and the lack of goals mean United sit in sixth with eight games left, out of the coveted top four positions.

Former star duo Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, who were part of a United era that were associated with plenty of goals under former manager Alex Ferguson, feel that it is a problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

“It’s been the biggest problem they’ve had all season, drawing too many matches and not killing teams off with the amount of opportunities they’ve had,” Neville told assembled media on Saturday (April 8) on the sidelines of Café Football’s Singapore launch.

“I am sure Jose Mourinho will know how to fix it in the summer, because he needs to; ultimately it’s not enough, you cannot keep dropping points at home, it’s frustrating.”

Giggs noted that the goalscoring burden cannot fall solely on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 27 goals in all competitions – Juan Mata is the only other player to reach double figures. As United’s attack continues to misfire, other departments in the team have not stepped up as well, the Welshman added.

“There’s not a lot wrong (with the team), the performances are good and defensively we look strong,” he said. “It’s just that concentration in (front of) goal and just that over-reliance, really, on Ibrahimovic. 

“He’s the centre-forward, but you need goals to come from everywhere, be it the wide men, midfielders, or even the defenders chipping in at set-pieces.”

LINGARD DESERVES NEW DEAL

The pair also defended Mourinho’s decision to hand winger Jesse Lingard a new four-year contract on Thursday, with the reported £80,000-a-week deal (S$139,000) criticised by many fans as too excessive for a squad player.

Neville pointed out that supporters should not be blaming Lingard, who came through the academy ranks, and that players like him were essential in previous winning United teams.

“Criticism of him is unjustified, he’s done well and scored in two cup finals for United,” the 42-year-old said. “The manager decides whether he gets the contract…the fact that he’s been at the club since the age of seven is an incredible achievement.

“He’s done a very good job for Jose Mourinho, for United, gives his all in every single game; he loves the club, so I think that ultimately it’s a deserved contract.

“I think maybe the fans’ frustration sometimes is (borne from) the fact that they want to see a (Cristiano) Ronaldo or a Giggs all the time… You always need players like Jesse to support those types of players – and over the years Manchester United have had plenty of those, like a Park (Ji-sung) type… they balance off the talented players, do the (hard) work and fill in gaps.”

Giggs hopes that the stability of a new contract will give Lingard the platform to achieve even more and become a regular for both club and country.

“He’s perhaps one of the players who needs to score more goals; as an attacking player you need to be heading for double figures and also 10, 12, 15 assists,” he added.

“Jesse’s that type of player who can do that, now he needs to… concentrate on his football and make sure he puts the regular, consistent performances in.”

AIMING FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

The appearance of the United legends caused a commotion at Café Football, a business venture between them and property firm Rowsley. The Singapore branch is their first outside of the United Kingdom, with an outlet each in London and Manchester.

Plans for the football-themed café, located at The Arena at Woodleigh Park, were announced last October and Giggs, who said the pair are very “hands on” in the business’s management, is confident of replicating the success in Singapore.

 “I think all you can do is prepare right, try and get the service and the quality of the food right, which is what we want to have consistent right through the branches,” he said.

“It’s a great spot (here). We were here seven to eight months ago and the transformation has been brilliant in that short space of time, so yeah, we are confident that we’ve got the right people and it will be a success.”

Neville added that they hope to also bring Hotel Football – the flagship hotel in their football-themed hospitality franchises – to Singapore “one day”.

The pair also showed they hadn’t lost their touch on the field, as they each captained seven-a-side teams for a friendly match, which saw Giggs’ side win 9-6 in a thrilling contest.