9th June 2021
Singapore Spends $23 Million on Food Security
To improve its ways of growing vegetables and rearing fish for food security, Singapore Food Agency (SFA) invests $23 million for research and projects.
With a total of 12 projects, eight focus on aquaculture while the remaining four projects plan to unveil growing vegetables in an urban environment.
These 12 proposals were funded under a grand call for research and development for sustainable urban food production.
Chief Executive of Singapore Food Agency, Lim Kok Thai, expressed that this initiative was put into life considering countries are facing challenges resulting in an impact on food security.
Aside from that, he mentioned that investing in research and development holds the future of food security.
Some of the global challenges that Lim Kok Thai has pinpointed are:
- Climate change
- Growing populations
- Decreasing land for agriculture use
And many more.
Each project invested in by the SFA holds both practicality and innovation for application. Thus, giving hopes of bringing the researchers closer to discovering ways to make the food security in Singapore more resilient, sustainable, and vibrant.
Some of the categories that the research focuses on
- Span field genetic (breeding of barramundi with improved growth and filet traits)
- Nutrition (Improving fish feed)
- Use of AI for farming
- Finding out how to monitor crop health and nutrient analysis in real-time to help reduce waste and boost productivity in hydroponic cultivation.
- Using vaccines for agriculture use to drop disease in the Asian sea bass.
According to the Singapore Food Agency, all 12 proposals have the perfect mix of innovative ideas and excellent solutions that are fully aligned to increase the productivity of local food producers in Singapore.
Aside from that, the Singapore Food Agency also expressed that all the 12 proposals demonstrated a promising potential to be scaled and executed not only in Singapore, but in other countries as well based on their track record, research team, and industry experience.
Up to date, Singapore has already imported more than 90% of its food. By 2030, Singapore targets producing about 30% of the country’s nutritional needs and boosting its local food production.
