ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1970, TO 31ST MARCH, 1971
(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, on the 9th of this month the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Law and National Development (National Development Division), in answer to a question raised by me, said that by the end of last year there were 20,357 registered farms and the registered farmers numbered 53,291 people. In addition to the members of their families, there were altogether about 175,400 people engaged in agricultural activities or depending on agricultural activities for their livelihood. They raised about $245 million worth of agricultural produce - an achievement that went unnoticed by other people. If they had not brought forth such a huge amount of agricultural produce, we would have lost an equivalent sum in foreign exchange. They also produced supplementary foodstuffs such as pigs, chickens, eggs and others. Some of them were exported, thus earning for Singapore quite a large sum of money in foreign exchange. 3.45 p.m. We can thus see that these farmers play a very important role in our national economy. But, Sir, most of them are very poor. They have to work very hard, going out to the farms in the early morning and working there until late in the evening. Almost every member of the family has to do his share of work. Even if he is a student, he has to help when he comes back from school. But the prices these farmers get for their agricultural produce are normally very cheap, and therefore they find it difficult to make ends meet. At times they may be able to sell their produce at higher prices and so make more money, but they have to set aside part of their money to tide them over difficult times, such as when prices are low or when a misfortune befalls them, as happened in last December's flood, and in the recent drought when they incurred heavy losses. Mr Speaker, Sir, if the farmers' land is affected by clearance, then their lives will be more miserable. Normally, when a certain piece of land is earmarked for development, it is acquired by Government and then put under the control of a statutory organisation. Usually, on a change of landlord, their rent is increased and their burden naturally becomes heavier. Prior to the actual development of the site, the farmers are notified not to engage in agricultural activities any more in view of immediate resettlement. It is true that in order to avoid unnecessary losses, the farmers dare not engage in agricultural activities any more. However, Sir, sometimes the farmers have been waiting for three or four years, and there is still no sign of resettlement. So during this waiting period, they have no income from agricultural activities. They have to maintain their livelihood on their previous savings. It is envisaged that they lead quite a hard life. When the time comes for their resettlement, their houses, fruit trees and vegetable crops which are the result of their years of toil, have to be abandoned overnight. They have to make use of the small sum of compensation and start everything all over again when they have been resettled in the resettlement area. Moreover, when they are resettled in new sites, the land allocated to each of them is not more than 14 acres. Since the land area is smaller than what they had previously, their agricultural produce will be less. Their income is accordingly less. Also, when they are resettled at the new site, they have to spend some money on building a house. This will have a higher assessment and they have to pay increased property tax. They also have to pay other overhead charges. All this will impose an additional burden on them. All along they have been suffering in silence. Because of our economic policy, they have to make some sacrifices for the good of the whole nation. This merits our praise. But the cause of the farmers' suffering is an artificial one, i.e., the prices of agricultural produce are subject to fluctuation, and so at times they have to sell at a loss. How pitiful this is! The difficulties of the farmers and the fluctuation of prices in agricultural produce have been pointed out by me on many occasions, and the reply has invariably been the same - that prices are governed by the law of supply and demand. So the Minister is not in a position to do anything. However, the Government can at least do something to alleviate the farmers' plight. It is to be admitted that since the inception of the Primary Production Department, it has rendered assistance to the farmers in many fields, especially in making an effective check on swine and chicken epidemics, introducing new scientific methods of production and new agricultural medicines to farmers. In general, farmers appreciate such services. However, Sir, when we compare the livelihood of these farmers 10 years ago with their livelihood today, we can see that there is almost no improvement at all. Since the Government is allocating a large sum of money to the National Development Division, we should expect something better from this Department, and the Government should try to improve the standard of living of the farmers. As far as I can see, the main cause of the fluctuation in prices of agricultural produce is random production. For instance, whenever there is a festival, the farmers will try to produce more in order to sell at a higher price. But since all farmers have the same idea, more will be produced and so prices will fall. In the end, all their toil and sweat come to nothing. Instead they lose money when they sell. Generally speaking, farmers are poor, so they have to depend on loans not only in the initial stages of farming but also in the process of production. They have to borrow at high interest rates from chit fund companies, grocery shop proprietors, landowners and others. The farmers may have to repay their loans in kind. In the end, the farmers have no control over or say in the prices of their produce. If they transport their produce to distant markets, they cannot make much money, because their produce is limited and the distance is far. Moreover, farm work takes up a lot of time and they cannot assign a person to a particular job. So, as usual, the farmers have to sell their produce through a middleman who can sell it at prices much higher than what they pay to the farmers. Some people may say that our market is a free one and if the farmers are not satisfied with the price paid by one middleman, they can go to another middleman for a better price. But we must know that since the farmers are tied down by their loans and by the other factors that I have mentioned, they are not able to do this. It behoves the Government to lend them a helping hand. The Government cannot shirk its responsibility to the farmers. It has the bounden duty to improve their lot. For these reasons, I urge the Government to set up an organisation - a National Agricultural Planning and Sales Board - to help the farmers, with the following functions: (1) to get specialists to collect information and data and analyse what agricultural produce is best for cultivation, and in what quantity, and when and where to sell it. All this will give the farmers some sort of guidance, instead of letting them go about their business blindly. (2) This board can set up a factory to process any excess agricultural produce and preserve it in cold storage or for export. It can also be canned. (3) The board can give loans to farmers who need them, so as to save them borrowing at high interest rates from moneylenders and from being exploited. (4) More important, the Government can help the farmers by engaging in wholesale buying and selling of agricultural produce. The exploitation by middlemen will therefore be done away with. Since the Government will do all these things for the farmers without making much profit, what little there is can be spent on overhead charges and maintenance, so that both farmers and consumers will benefit. In other words, all the people will benefit from the setting up of this board. Let me reiterate: if the Government is sincere in taking care of agricultural development, now is the time for it to consider seriously how to improve the lot of the farmers.