Doing their part for sustainable living
Environmental engineer Wong Xin Huei has been developing ways to use water more efficiently, in the rice fields of the Philippines since April.
As some of the rice fields may be far from water bodies, and seasonal variations in water levels due to floods and droughts exacerbate poor irrigation due to a lack of proper irrigation systems.
The end-product conceptualised by Ms Wong and her team is intended to combine precision farming techniques with sensors that monitor variables such as temperature and PH levels of the soil, so as to optimise crop yield while minimising water usage.
Ms Wong is one of 24 young people, aged between 18 and 25, who took part in the inaugural Singapore Sustainability Showcase held last Sunday at the Singapore Sustainability Academy in City Square Mall.
Six groups of four participants each shared their solutions to about 400 members of the public about sustainable development in the region.
The social enterprise behind the showcase, Young Sustainable Impact Southeast Asia (YSI SEA), is a regional chapter of YSI Global , which was launched in 2016, with the goal of nurturing start-ups with an emphasis on sustainable development.
Another Singaporean participant was Mr Kum Wei Chuen.
The 25-year-old business development manager and his team observed that malnutrition in infants was a prevalent problem in South-east Asia.
To this end, they are developing a mobile application for healthcare providers and caregivers to access information on infant nutrition.
Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said: “We want to live well and meet our aspirations and goals. But never rob the future of opportunity, never use up all the resources that our grandparents and great-grandparents have stored away for us.”
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