Singapore makes room for allotment gardens as urban farming takes root

A papaya fruit tree in a national park in Singapore. The island-state has affordable and available food but as the country imports about 90 per cent of its food, its food security is susceptible to climate change and natural resource risks. Image: Rina Chandran via Thomson Reuters Rain or shine, every day for the past year, Kanti Kagrana walks a short distance from his son’s flat to Singapore’s HortPark, a national park where he grows chillies, eggplant and spinach in his allotment garden. Kagrana, a 60-something native of India, is among a growing community of urban farmers in Singapore, which introduced allotment gardens in November 2017, modelled after England’s programme which dates back to at least the 19th century. Singapore now has more than 1,000 allotment gardens in a dozen of its national parks. Each is a raised planter bed measuring 2.5 metres by 1 metre, and can be leased for three years for S$57 ($42) annually. “I enjoy gardening, but there is not enough space in my son’s flat,” said Kagrana, who has two plots. “This gives me something to do, and I take the produce home so we save some money, as well,” he said as he […]

Click here to view original web page at Singapore makes room for allotment gardens as urban farming takes root