Group 4 : A description and analysis of Singapore Food Agency (SFA)

Goals of SFA
1. Diversify import sources
2. Local agriculture growth (etc)

SFA’s stakeholders
1. MSE,NEA,AVA → Policies are congruent & supplementary to SFA’s operations
2. Employees – SFA
• Public → SFA accountable for safety of food
• Companies → compliance with SFA’s guidelines

Case Study
1. SFA – sourcing food sources from multiple sources → insufficient → local
production needs to increase → only 10% is produced locally (2020)

Contribution of SFA → Aim to increase SG’s food production → self-sufficiency → 30

by 30 Initiative

Examples : To increase self-sufficiency

- Urban farms on car parks → community farming
- Implementation of new resource-efficient technologies → increase capacity of
production → use of LED lighting & recirculating aquaculture systems
- Strategic allocation of land space → redevelopment of LCK
- Funding support for local farms → $63 million of Agriculture Productivity Fund
(APF)

Considerations
1. SFA – Low technological enablement
2. Limited land space → lack of competitive advantage
3. Environmental constraints → climate change → affect land
4. Harm to overseas exporters → rivalry → competing exporter

Examples : Approval of cultured (lab-grown) meat

- Aim :
o Achieve globally respected, future-ready food system
- Analysis:
o Receptiveness of stakeholders:
 Directors – EatJust
 Investors – Expect higher potential profits
 NGOs – Supportive against animal cruelty
 Consumers – Exercise power of economic choice
 Food retailers → dependent on partnership
 Animal farmers → Against → affect livelihoods
 o Impact of environment:
 Environmental friendliness (+)
 Fewer animal killing → compassionate → Animal as a life (+)
 Human nutrition (+)
 Fewer animals reared → Reduced exposure to diseases →
lowers risk of animal to human transition (+)
 Higher projected environmental costs (-) → production process
is energy intensive
 Education → require public acceptance → change of taste &
preferences → requires lower cost & ethical principles.
Summary
1. Economic lens → SFA behaves like a business → role of busi
2. Multidisciplinary → many aspects in ethics, environment, social, tech
3. Balance is key → Seemingly contradictory effects.

Q&A
• What principles does SFA lean to?
- Socially responsible → stewardship principle
• What is the definition of food security?
- Accessibility to food → Sufficient, Safe & Sustainable supply of food
sources
• Why does the government support the 30 by 30 initiative?
- This is not an arbitrary number!
- 30 by 30 Initiative :
o To build up the agri-food industry's capability and capacity
o Aim: Produce 30% of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by
2030
- Why name it 30 by 30?
o Impact communication policy
o 30% → Reasonable qty → Crisis-management → Sufficient to survive
→ If food supply chains are entirely disrupted
o Challenges in SG:
 Lack of arable land → Traditional large-scale farming →
impossible because of land scarcity

Group 1 : Evolution of the consumer protection in Singapore

• Consumer protection – Rights

a. To be informed
b. To be heard
c. Right to privacy
NGO : Consumer’s Association of Singapore (CASE)
- Aim → protect the interests of all consumers
- Identify the problem of unethical advertising
- List of aims:
o Consumer education
o Working with retailers
o Pushing for legislation

Efforts Of CASE
1. Labelling of Medicine → protect consumer’s rights to be informed

a. Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (SAPI)

b. Prohibiting MLM & Pyramid Selling

• Exclusion Order (2000) : Expansion to include insurance companies

c. Toy Safety Authority of Singapore (TSAS)

- Promote & regulate the highest safety of toys for consumers

d. Case Trust

e. Small Claims Tribunal Act

Summary

What are the 5 rights of consumers?

a. To be informed
b. Safety
c. Choice
d. To be heard
e. To privacy

Q&A
1. Regulations can have intended and unintended effects
- Other forms of social control needs to be used
- Regulations cannot be the only tool.
- If law is too complex, difficult to implement

2. Some laws are not updated

- Law lags behind social development → stifles development

3. How does CASE excludes companies that shouldn’t be under Exclusion Order?
- MLM is a bit arbitrary → difficult to regulate → grey areas
- The government will intervene based on existing regulations → if unsure →
businesses should clarify with the govt
- Too rigidly defined → the government has discretionary powers to intervene
Evolution of consumer protection occurred (past 2000s)
• 1980s : Consumer acts were limited → laws are very targeted
• 2000s : Influx of tourists → what attracts them to SG → shopping paradise →
government recognised gap in consumer protection → protect tourist industry →
Assurance → protection against scams
• Now : Evolving → due to rise of E-Commerce

Group 6 : A description and analysis of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)

• PDPA – Scope
o Protection from Data Protection
o Do Not Call Registry
• PDPA prevents exploitation of data – importance of data collection
• PDPA protects the misuse of data of individuals
o Collection of personal data
o Care of personal data
o Individual’s autonomy over data
• Stakeholders
o 2 categories – Public & Private
o Private : Self-serving → Likelier to abuse the individual’s data → profit-
driven
o Committee → PDPC → Personal Data Protection Commission →
protect personal data
o Govt : Prevent cyber espionage, protect key installations (interests)
• Business & Individual r/s
• Society (individuals) – Has rights to control their data, improved experience,
prevents phishing & identity theft
o Individuals should consider qty/type of data that should be released.
o Check credentials of parties before disclosing your data.

Case Study of SingHealth

• Happened in 2018
o Personal data of 1.5 million patients were accessed and stolen.
o SingHealth notified patients
• PDPC meted out penalties – borne by Singhealth & IT provider (IHIS)
• IHIS personnel lacked vigilance → dismissal of suspicious activity → Lack of
reporting mechanism → Escalation of issue.
• Slow response → IHIS did not improve based on findings of internal audit

Case study of Trace together

• Infringement of PDPA → Dilemma
o Good/Right →
 Safeguard social welfare → contact-tracing → early isolation of
Covid-19 patients
o Wrong →
 Expanded beyond contact tracing → investigation into violent
crimes etc
Shortcomings
1. Govt could be clearer in communication
2. Should legislate removal of Trace together data from CPC → Restrict accessibility
to data by police

Business & Government

• Business
o Desire to collect more data → improve marketing strategies
• Society
o Desire for more protection → prevent exploitation
o Call for more empowerment → breakdown of clauses in a more
transparent manner

Discussion Questions (to ask Team 6)

1. How can businesses make their reasons for data collection and how will they be
using consumer data more transparent (given that terms and conditions are usually
too long for consumers to read through)?
- Wei Jin

Answers
• Layout type of data → declare what type of data → consumers should be able to
understand it in a layman manner

2. You mentioned that businesses must appoint a DPO, what is the role of DPO?
- JH

Answers
• DPO → Data protection officer → Needs to be contactable at all times → disclosure
of information

3. How would a business need to comply with the DNC registry?

- Bernice

Answers
• DNC → Opt out of unwanted messages → check the individual’s consent →
negligible cost

4. Do you have any recommendations for the government to improve the PDPA?
- Ji En

Answers
• PDPA – does not include the right to be forgotten
o Consent given must be clear and used in a plain language.
o Require organisations to take a “common-sense approach” →
individuals should be able to delete their data
• Negligible cost → the fine payable is not in line with the severity/magnitude of
affected users

5.After the SingHealth data breach incident, what has been done to improve the data
security of not just SingHealth, but across all organisations in Singapore so that no
such incident occurs again in the future? 
- Jessica

Answers
• Enhancing infrastructure → Improvement in cyber security
• Government made IT Awareness Programme mandatory → Staff training →
formalise standards

Q&A
• Why is there a need to protect personal data?
o High potential of misuse & data leakage → subjected to harassment
o Security concern → used for scams → identity impersonation
o Personal data → unique personal identifier → is very difficult to
connect the data together
 Government has moved away from NRIC number.

• In the past, companies gather a client list → identify potential clients by cold calling
→ more difficult now with PDPA

• Why is SG government’s stance of PDPA is more lax than European countries?

o Less emphasis on individual data → the pressure on the government is
less
o Compliance cost → look at SG → SMEs may lack the ability to partner
IT providers or implement DPOs → Financial constraints
 However, it is necessary to improve → adequate protection for
consumers → especially confidential information

• Which stakeholder collects the most data?

o Government – No penalties (economic) → suffer political
consequences
o We should be more targeted → higher responsibility for bigger
companies
o Educate smaller companies to collect less data.

Finals
• On-site exams → be it online/pen-and-paper → if on-site, format: pen-and-paper
- We need to take ART!
• Focus on content:
- Relevance: Read session 1 – 9 → up to corporate governance
- Additional slides: Is more on how to manage stakeholders → session 11-13,
less important
- Group presentations: Application based → read and understand
- Impt: Organise notes → print the notes → can bring TB etc → for hardcopy
(for on-site)