Farmers tell CNA why"grown in Singapore" is still a challenge, and what needs to change for the country to meet its goal of producing 30 per cent of its nutritional needs locally.
The question, he said, is whether Singapore farms can produce high-quality produce at a price that people are willing to pay. Productive farms are not immune either. Universal Aquaculture, a vertical indoor farm that was producing about 33 tonnes of vannamei shrimp per year, is set to move out of Singapore after its lease at Tuas South Link expired in November 2023.
The “30 by 30” vision has proven to be an immense and complex undertaking. Local farmers told CNA about the challenges they face in an industry of intense competition. In contrast, freshness, being pesticide-free and food safety were key factors for consumers who prefer locally grown food. Locally grown food does beat imported food not only in freshness but also nutritional value, as it does not need to be harvested early and spends less time in cold storage and in transit, he added.
Older folks prefer to eat tropical fish like threadfin and marble goby – which Atlas Aquaculture farms – over the likes of imported salmon, said Ms Yoong. It is also more than the 78 per cent who say that more prominent displays of local produce in supermarkets are likely to help. Local lettuce, chye sim and xiao bai cai go for as low as S$1.78 for a 200g packet, while local tilapia is sold at S$4.90 for a whole fish or S$5.90 for sliced fish.
Land rent, outsourcing of food processing, sorting and packing, as well as the cut that supermarkets and distributors take also add up. While Atlas Aquaculture’s 2.1ha farm in Singapore – which produces 10 to 15 tonnes of seafood a year – was on the verge of breaking even, the two co-owned farms in Sarawak and Lombok have already turned a profit.
Professor Paul Teng, a food security expert at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, emphasised the “judicious use of technology” in local farms that are price competitive. Existing indoor farming systems tend to be designed for vegetables like lettuce rather than Asian leafy greens, according to Mr Veera, who is also a Professor in Practice at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences.
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