Singapore's fishing industry sees new breed of farmers

Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia 19 Jul 08;

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government has said it will re-look its farming policy to ensure food supplies remain stable in the long term.

In the meantime, its fishing industry is seeing a new breed of farmers, with a small but growing number of mid-career professionals getting into the business.

One such professional is Mr Malcolm Ong. The 45-year-old, who spent much of his career in the IT industry, never thought that he would one day own a fish farm - until January last year.

"I love the sea, I go out (to the sea) very often, and I saw some fish farms and I said, hey, it's a good idea to spend time here," said Mr Ong, the director of MPG Trading.

For daughter Rachel, the farm has also become her playground.

Mr Ong represents a growing breed of fish farmers in Singapore - well-educated, unafraid of technology and completely new to the game.

Mr Ong said: "I don't know anything about fish, so I need partners. I managed to find some good partners. They know a lot about how to put the farm together, I know a lot about how to get the company going, how to register the company, how to handle the taxes, the accounts, etc. That's how we put our strengths together."

He said he knows of other fish farmers like him, who come from a variety of backgrounds.

One, for instance, used to be a car dealer, another sells machinery.

While some treat their business like a side investment, there are some who have decided to make a career switch altogether.

There are 104 fish farms in Singapore, and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is happy to support their growth, providing them with technical advice, health checks, and help in sourcing suitable plots.

Its Marine Aquaculture Centre also hatches fish fry which are sold to commercial farms in Singapore and the region.

The AVA says such assistance extends to vegetable and chicken egg farmers too.

Still, with a start-up cost of nearly half-a-million Sing dollars, and a product vulnerable to death and disease, the risks are high.

But it has been paying off. Market prices of milkfish have gone up by some 30 per cent in the past year, and Mr Ong is thinking of expanding his business.

He said: "What you see here is only potentially a quarter of our fish farm today.....we have 18 nets and we want to double it to 40."

- CNA/ir