Singapore has set itself a new goal: Almost one-third of the food that the nation needs will be home-grown by 2030. This will include vegetables cultivated in climate-controlled greenhouses under special LED lighting to maximise yields.
Announcing the ambitious "30 by 30" goal yesterday to produce 30 per cent of Singapore's nutritional needs locally by 2030, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli told Parliament that this calls for new solutions to raise productivity. The agri-food industry would also have to apply research and development, strengthen climate resilience and overcome resource constraints, he added.
The need to bolster the Republic's food security through agri-technology could not be more urgent. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates widespread declines in crop yields of up to a quarter by 2050 due to global warming. Singapore, which imports over 90 per cent of its food, wants to be less vulnerable to the volatility of the global food market.
The Agriculture Productivity Fund has allowed local farms such as Kok Fah (above) to add climate control and automation systems to their operations. Projects that adopt circular economy approaches, where all waste materials are re-purposed, creating funds to help build a sustainable Singapore.
