Israel can help Singapore tackle food import vulnerability

Jerusalem

SINGAPORE'S food import vulnerability is a major opportunity for Israeli companies that have the experience to assist the island nation in boosting its food security, says SIFOOD, an investment fund that helps Israeli companies to enter the Singapore market.

This is because Israel is a world leader in agricultural innovation, and strong links already exist between the business communities of both countries, according to Ronit Koren, senior manager at SIFOOD.

Setting up joint ventures with Singapore firms gives Israeli companies a springboard to countries in the region that enjoy strong commercial ties with Singapore.

"Singaporeans like our entrepreneurship, our chutzpah (self-confidence), but I have seen them in negotiations - and we have something to learn from them," Ms Koren said.

Challenges

Singapore ranks highly among food- secure nations, thanks to its strong economy, but 90 per cent of the country's produce is imported from over 170 countries, according to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

This leaves the city-state incredibly vulnerable to interruptions to food supply, export bans, market volatility and climate change.

The SFA has set a goal to ensure that Singapore produces 30 per cent of its own food by 2030. The agency said that this will include 10 per cent of the country's protein needs - which is crucial for maintaining energy and productivity - and this will be achieved by utilising technology to grow more with less.

According to Ms Koren, "food security is important to every country but especially for Israel because of the geo-political situation we find ourselves in".

In addition to geo-political pressures, Israel faces particular challenges when it come to agriculture. Fertile land only accounts for 20 per cent of Israel's land area; over half of the country is desert, and much of the population - including Israel's economic powerhouse and largest metropolitan area Tel Aviv - is squeezed into a narrow coastal strip.

This geography forces Israeli agriculturalists to be innovative, and the sector includes a myriad of enterprises and services.

Israel frequently appears among the nations most secure in food and water, thanks to innovative agricultural and technological companies and products.

Indeed, some Singaporean companies, including Apollo Aquaculture Group, have bought land abroad to cultivate protein-rich foodstuffs such as fish and legumes. The group's chief executive officer Eric Ng said he was inspired to make the move after visiting Israel in 2010.

Multiple facets

No legume is more quintessentially Israeli than the chickpea. Israelis of all backgrounds and ages devour tonnes of it every year so it is not surprising that ChickP has chosen to focus on this classic Israeli crop. The company develops chickpeas enriched with 90 per cent protein.

"We probably have the best material on the market. Our product has scientific evidence behind it," said Ram Reifen, a nutrition expert and ChickP's chief strategy officer.

ChickP is part of the wave of meat alternative products that have emerged over the last 10 years.What makes the company unique is that its protein is neither soya nor celiac based.

According to the company, this ensures that the product bypasses concerns about high levels of oestrogen and gluten in these foods. And as it is vegan, it meets the dietary requirements of all of Singapore's demographic groups.

Food security goes beyond crops, nutrition and dietary awareness. It also requires a system to control supply from farm to table. This is where AKOLogic positions itself.

The brainchild of agriculture technology expert and company CEO Ron Shoni, AKOLogic touts itself as the world's first agricultural cloud software service based on Microsoft cloud technology for worldwide use.

Designed to specialise in food security, the AKOLogic cloud recommends the best growing practices according to a country's regulations on pesticides, fertilisers, irrigation, etc.

"Singaporeans want the ability to lead East Asia agriculturally, that's why our product is interesting to them," Mr Shoni said.

Mr Shoni's drive to make Israeli's products and services more accessible is shared by other companies seeking to enter Singapore's market, motivated by geo-politics as much as economics.

Win-win situation

Ask Israeli business people about their interaction with Singaporean counterparts and their responses are warm. They recognise that while Israel has tremendous technological expertise, Singapore is the more established, successful and senior of the two.

"Singapore has the means when we do not. They have this outstanding combination of diligence and industriousness, they are extremely smart and ambitious," Prof Reifen said. "This is a win-win situation, and we are very happy."