Getting Your Hands Dirty: Why Fieldwork and Fresh Perspectives Matter - 2021-02-27 & 2025-02-15

There's a huge difference between hearing about something and experiencing it firsthand. Sometimes, you just have to get your hands dirty to truly understand. Relying solely on secondhand information can lead to misconceptions and missed opportunities for improvement. My experience growing kangkong (water spinach) taught me a valuable lesson about this.

I used to plant kangkong from seeds, waiting months for a single harvest. But I discovered that kangkong, like many plants, is perennial. This means you can harvest it repeatedly without replanting from seed each time! Instead of pulling up the whole plant, you simply harvest what you need and let it regrow. It's a much more sustainable and efficient approach. Why do we still see kangkong sold as whole plants? It's a practice ripe for change, and it requires a shift in mindset.

Germinating seeds also provided a learning experience. Initially, I just buried the seeds and let the sun do its work. Often, they wouldn't germinate, especially if planted too deep or in a cool spot. Then, I noticed papaya seeds sprouting in my compost pile after I'd removed a layer of soil to get rid of some micro-snails. The seeds were waiting for the right conditions! It made me realize how clever seeds are, and how humans have learned to mimic those ideal conditions through techniques like using warm water for germination.

This brings me to another point: don't just listen to what people say; watch what they do. As a friend's boss wisely put it, "Ten years of experience can sometimes be just one year of experience repeated ten times." Just because someone has been in an industry for a long time doesn't automatically make them an expert. They might be stuck in outdated practices.

That's where newcomers can have a real advantage. They bring fresh perspectives and aren't afraid to challenge the status quo. They ask "why" when others simply accept "how." They're not burdened by years of ingrained habits and assumptions.

Take vegetable farming, for example. There are so many opportunities for innovation. Why start from seed every time when you can regrow vegetables from cuttings, like the videos of regrowing Shanghai green, Chinese cabbage, and carrots demonstrate? Why isn't the industry embracing these techniques more widely?

Outsiders, unconstrained by conventional wisdom, are often the ones who disrupt industries and drive innovation. They see opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiency where others see only the familiar.

Consider vertical farming. Singapore's exploration of rotating planting beds and the use of robotic arms in vertical farms are examples of how new players are pushing the boundaries of agriculture. These innovations may offer significant advantages, although their cost-effectiveness remains to be seen.

Even established industries can be slow to adapt. Tesla's giga press is a prime example of a disruptive innovation in car manufacturing. Traditional automakers, despite decades of experience, hadn't explored such a radical change in production methods. And using notebook batteries for electric cars? A brilliant idea that, for some reason, others hadn't considered.

The recent success of Deepseek is another example of how newcomers can shake up established players. Even the biggest and richest companies can be caught off guard by fresh ideas and innovative approaches. Sometimes, it takes an outsider to see what insiders can't.