Sign up for Uber with promo code COCOSG for a FREE uberX ride, capped at S$15
The history of Quan Fa Organic Farm dates back to the late '70s. Founder Liao Chuan Huat was running it as a conventional vegetable garden, before the work of farmers in Japan and Taiwan influenced him to switch to ecological agragian farming methods. The family business (Liao runs it with his wife Madam Eng Yock Kee, son Liao JunJie [JJ] and several relatives) now occupies a two-hectare plot in the Murai Agrotechnology Park, after their previous location on Lorong Serambi was put up for redevelopment to cater to the military. Today, it's possibly the largest organic farm in Singapore that delivers fresh homegrown fruits and vegetables almost daily to homes, restaurants and supermarkets. Coconuts Singapore pays a visit to the spacious and little urbanised Murai Farmway, to speak with JJ, who handles the business development at Quan Fa Organic Farm.
Quan Fa Organic Farm is a two-hectare plot growing fruits and vegetables organically, located at 35 Murai Farmway
Q: What are some distinct features of an organic farm like Quan Fa?
A: We don't use pesticides or any other chemical, so we employ alternative strategies to keep our crops healthy. Certain herbs, like basil and mint, are planted together with our cash crops to attract beneficial insects and deter harmful ones. Our greenhouses are also protected with netting, on which we put up different-coloured sticky traps. The yellow ones typically capture aphids and whiteflies, while the blue help resist thrips or corn flies. The crops are also rotated to allow for nutrients in the soil to replenish themselves and to prevent harmful insects from building up.
Crop rotation, protective netting and sticker insect traps are some ways the organic farm is able to cut chemical use completely
Q: You also make your own compost.
Yes, we have a large area on the farm where we dump waste plant matter from both pre and post-harvest processes, and mix it up with sawdust and yeast. We let the piles sit for about three to six months and when they become odourless fertilisers filled with beneficial micro-organisms, we distribute them to our crops. [Editor's note: For more information on the Japanese compost-making process unique to organic farms, read this story on Singapore Farming]
Plant waste is allowed to decompose naturally for use as fertiliser
Q: Talk us through some of the challenges you're facing.
A: The weather's been erratic lately, so some of our plants, like the bok choy in my father's research and development (R&D) area, are not doing well. We've prepared though — March till May is an unfavourable period for growing in Singapore, so we're already working with organic farms in Australia, Malaysia and Thailand to grow the crops we need to meet demand. Naturally, shelf life decreases when we import, so we have to move fast. Deliveries are conducted by air and refrigerated trucks, and the fruits and vegetables hit retail shelves typically a day after harvest. It's a good business because demand is high and especially so for us because we own a physical farm that customers can visit anytime they like, but like any other business, much work goes into ensuring the production process is smooth.
Also, the government, or at least the top-level executives like the Ministers of Parliament, want to help keep businesses like ours sustainable, but it seems the current regulations in place prevent us from getting grants or any such assistance. We've been trying, but we've only faced rejection so far.
Manpower is not easy to come by; you don't exactly hear young Singaporeans dreaming about being farmers some day. But we get by, introducing automated watering and improving our farming methods to minimise labour.
Automated plant watering helps reduce the need for manual labour
Q: What are some of the cash crops that are grown on the farm?
A: Leafy vegetables such as kangkong and local lettuce do well here and grow very quickly — the former can be harvested in about 28 days. We also have herbs like basil, buckwheat, mint, radish, rosemary and wheatgrass, bittergourd, carrots and lady's fingers, as well as fruits like banana, durian, rambutan and pumpkin.
Kangkong is the fastest growing leafy vegetable on the farm
Q: What restaurants and supermarkets do you supply to?
A: We send fruits and vegetables in Quan Fa Organic Farm packaging to Sheng Siong supermarkets at Block 209 Bedok Central, Block 720 Clementi West, Elias Mall, Loyang Point, Block 301 Punggol, as well as Blocks 6A and 301 Woodlands. We also supply to cafes and restaurants like Afterglow, Artichoke, Sunny Choice and Tsukadad Nojo.
Q: What activities have you conducted on the farm and what else can visitors expect?
A: We recently organised Yoga in the Farm along with Afterglow cafe and Lululemon that was a lot of fun. The day, which consisted of a yoga session, farm tour and food-tasting (Afterglow made a salad using ingredients from Quan Fa), was fully-booked and well-received. We're open to conducting day events like that or just simple and educational farm tours for companies and schools. We do welcome walk-in visitors, especially on the weekends when we stock our Marketplace with packaged fresh produce and other organic products from our suppliers.
Quan Fa's weekend marketplace offers packaged fresh produce and other organic products
Q: What's coming up next for Quan Fa Organic Farm?
A: We're revamping our e-commerce platform in terms of design and user experience. When that is done, we'll start menu-specific box deliveries. We're hoping to launch that in July. We're also looking into designing a mobile app and organising a farm-to-table dinner, which I'd like to hold on the outdoor pathway in between our greenhouses. In terms of supply, you can expect to see products by Quan Fa Organic Farm at Isetan, too, very soon.
The pathway where JJ plans to hold Quan Fa's first farm-to-table event
Quan Fa Organic Farm is located at 35 Murai Farmway, 6793-7693. Visit the website or check their Facebook page for updates.
This first edition of Makers & Shakers on one of Singapore's leading producers and distributors of organic fruits and vegetables Quan Fa, is presented by uberX.. uberX is the transportation provider's more affordable private car service that just launched in Singapore. New Uber registrations that use the code COCOSG will get $15 off their first uberX order — basically a free ride! Don't miss our previous trips on the uberX: we introduced six of Singapore's must-have favourite foods and new eateries as of April 2014!
↧